Qatar were drawn with India, Kuwait and the winners of the Round 1 tie between Afghanistan or Mongolia in Group A for Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and Asian Cup 2027 following the draw at in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday.

The 36 sides were drawn into nine groups of four, and they will compete against each team in a home-and-away round-robin format, between November 2023 and June 2024. Ten of the Round 2 teams will progress from Round 1 of the Preliminary Joint Qualification, with the draw conducted earlier yesterday. As there will be 48 teams – a first – at the FIFA World Cup 2026 to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States – eight and a half slots are on offer for the Continent’s national teams.
Group B will see Japan, Syria, North Korea and Myanmar/Macau battling to advance to the third round. South Korea lead the Group C cast with China, Thailand and Singapore/Guam also in the fray while Group D saw Oman, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei/Timor-Leste drawn together. Group E will see Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hong Kong/Bhutan vying to advance to the next round with Iraq, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia/Brunei Darussalam the Group F sides.

Group G consists of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Tajikistan and Cambodia/Pakistan while Group H will see United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen/Sri Lanka and Nepal/Laos tussling for the two berths. Australia, Palestine, Lebanon and Maldives/Bangladesh are the Group I cast.

Japan are Asia's best team at 20th in the world rankings and reached the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup last year, beating Spain and Germany on the way, before going out to Croatia. They should have way too much for a North Korean team ranked 115th.

China have ambitions of becoming a footballing superpower but they have reached the World Cup only once and also face a tough task in the form of a South Korea side led by coach Juergen Klinsmann and captain Son Heung-min.

All nine group winners and the respective runners-up will advance to the third round of World Cup qualifying, and at the same time seal their places at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027. The draw for the third round of the global showpiece in 2026 will be conducted in 2024, where the 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six; the top two from each group will qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The other two direct AFC entrants will be determined in the fourth round of World Cup qualifying, with one more possible berth available via an Intercontinental Playoff. The other 18 teams from Round 2 will proceed directly to the third and final round of AFC Asian Cup qualifying. More details on the latter qualifying stages will be released in due course.

Earlier, draw for the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 was completed. A total 20 teams were divided into 10 pairings, with each pair to play one home and one away match on October 12 and 17, 2023 respectively.

After the draw at Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Windsor John, the secretary-general, called the draw "a good spread of different regions".

"The matches that you think will be exciting may end up not being exciting, and the matches that you think are insignificant may end up being key matches," he said.

The Groups
Group A: Qatar, India, Kuwait, Afghanistan/Mongolia
Group B: Japan, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar/Macau
Group C: South Korea, China, Thailand,Singapore/Guam
Group D: Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei/Timor-Leste
Group E: Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong/Bhutan
Group F: Iraq, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia/Brunei Darussalam
Group G: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Tajikistan, Cambodia/Pakistan
Group H: UAE, Bahrain, Yemen/Sri Lanka, Nepal/Laos
Group I: Australia, Palestine, Lebanon, Maldives/Bangladesh

 

 

 

 

 

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