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A total of 36 teams will participate in the second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup in the Asian region, divided into 9 groups. According to the schedule, in November 2023, the Vietnamese men’s national football team of coach Philippe Troussier will play as a visitor against the Philippines on November 16 and then return to their home ground to face Iraq on November 21.
According to the tournament rules, the top two teams from each group after the qualifiers will make it to the third round, and secure direct qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup. The remaining 18 teams will proceed to the third which is also the final round of the qualifiers.
The competition in Group F, with Iraq, the Philippines, and likely Indonesia as the remaining team, is expected to be intense.
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Vietnamese national team once advanced to the final qualifier in 2022 World Cup |
Another strong Southeast Asia representative in the qualifiers is Thailand, placed in Group C alongside South Korea, China, and the winner of the Singapore-Guam pairing.
The Vietnamese national team once advanced to the final qualifier in the 2022 World Cup.
The results of the draw for the other groups are as follows:
Group A: Qatar, India, Kuwait, and the winner of the Afghanistan-Mongolia match.
Group B: Japan, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar, and Macau.
Group D: Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, and Timor-Leste.
Group E: Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong (China), and Bhutan.
Group G: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, and Pakistan.
Group H: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, Sri Lanka, and Nepal - Laos.
Group I: Australia, Palestine, Lebanon, Maldives, and Bangladesh.
From the 2026 World Cup, FIFA will increase the number of participating teams to 48, with Asia having 8.5 slots. Therefore, AFC has made some changes to the qualifying format. The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region will consist of four rounds, with the first two rounds being qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup.
