The 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia are about to return

At the end of the second qualifying round, the 18 teams with the best results won tickets to continue. They are divided into 3 groups. Group A includes: Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan and the DPRK. Group B includes South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait. Meanwhile, Group C is considered a group of death with the participation of Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, Bahrain and Indonesia.

The 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia will take place from September 5, 2024 to June 10, 2025. Accordingly, the top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup - the tournament will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico. The teams finishing 3rd and 4th in each group will qualify for the 4th qualifying round.

Of the 18 Asian teams participating in the 3rd qualifying round, the Korean team is the team that has participated in the World Cup the most times with 11 appearances. Following them are Japan (7 times), Australia, Iran and Saudi Arabia (6 times in total).

Australia and Japan will face each other for the fifth consecutive time in the World Cup qualifiers. Expanding, these two teams, along with the Saudi Arabia team, are in the same qualifying group for the third consecutive time. In the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the team from the land of the bag Eaters were behind Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The Indonesian team is the only team in Southeast Asia participating in the 3rd qualifying round. Mr. Shin Tae-yong's team is in 2nd place in the group with Iraq, Vietnam and the Philippines. Although not highly rated, the Indonesian team is determined to show their best against the strongest teams in the continent.

In Vietnam, the matches in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia will be broadcast on K+.