2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

All FIFA-affiliated nations entered the joint qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup; Northern Mariana Islands, who are not members of FIFA, would have entered through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round. ==Format==

The qualification format was announced on 1 August 2022, having been revamped to fit the increased finals allocation of eight direct qualifiers and one play-off qualifier: • First round: 20 teams (ranked 27–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners advanced to the second round. The best loser qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round, while the remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round. • Second round: 36 teams (ranked 1–26 and ten first-round winners) were divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up advanced to the third round and automatically qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round. • Third round: 18 teams which advanced from the second round were divided into three groups of six teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams of each group qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup, the third- and fourth-placed teams advanced to the fourth round. • Fourth round: Six third- and fourth-placed teams from the third round were divided into two groups of three teams each. The teams played against each other once in a centralized venue. The winners of each group qualified for the World Cup, and the runners-up of each group advanced to the fifth round. • Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round competed home-and-away over two legs to determine the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-offs. ==Draw==

The draw for the first and second rounds of joint qualification took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 July 2023. The top 26 ranked teams were given byes to the second round, while the 20 teams entering the first round were seeded into two pots of 10 teams each and drawn alternately from pot 1 then pot 2 to form a pairing. The team from pot 1 hosted the first leg and the team from pot 2 hosted the second leg. Pots 1, 2 and 3 for the second round draw contained the teams ranked 1–9, 10–18, and 19–26, respectively, while pot 4 contained placeholders for the ten winners of the first round ties. Nine teams were drawn from pot 4 first and placed in position 4 of each group. The tenth team from pot 4 was moved to Pot 3, and subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3. Teams were then drawn into each group sequentially from pots 3, 2, and 1. ==Schedule==

The competition schedule was as follows: ==First round==

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round of World Cup qualifying. ==Second round==

Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I ==Third round==

Group A Group B Group C ==Fourth round==

Group A Group B ==Fifth round==

The two second-placed teams from the fourth round played against each other over two legs in November 2025 to determine which team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs. ==Inter-confederation play-offs==

The winner of the fifth round, Iraq, joined Bolivia (from CONMEBOL), DR Congo (from CAF), Jamaica and Suriname (both from CONCACAF), and New Caledonia (from OFC) in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams were ranked according to the November 2025 FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two matches. The winners met the two highest-ranked teams in another set of matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. ==Qualified teams==

The following teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament. ==Top goalscorers==

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round: ==See also==