AFC
Asia
In the third round, 18 teams were drawn into three groups of six; the top two in each group qualified directly for the 2026 World Cup (6 berths). The third- and fourth-placed teams advanced to the fourth round, where two groups of three were played; each group winner qualified directly (2 more berths) and the two runners-up advanced to the AFC fifth round / inter-confederation play-off.
QualifiedPlay-offEliminated
Third round - Group A
Top 2 (Iran, Uzbekistan) qualified directly; 3rd-4th (UAE, Qatar) advanced to the fourth round.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Iran | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 23 |
2 | Uzbekistan | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 21 |
3 | United Arab Emirates | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 15 |
4 | Qatar | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 24 | -7 | 13 |
5 | Kyrgyzstan | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 18 | -6 | 8 |
6 | North Korea | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 21 | -12 | 3 |
Third round - Group B
Top 2 (South Korea, Jordan) qualified directly; 3rd-4th (Iraq, Oman) advanced to the fourth round.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Korea | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 22 |
2 | Jordan | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 16 |
3 | Iraq | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 15 |
4 | Oman | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 11 |
5 | Palestine | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 10 |
6 | Kuwait | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 20 | -13 | 5 |
Third round - Group C
Top 2 (Japan, Australia) qualified directly; 3rd-4th (Saudi Arabia, Indonesia) advanced to the fourth round.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Japan | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 3 | +27 | 23 |
2 | Australia | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 19 |
3 | Saudi Arabia | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 13 |
4 | Indonesia | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 20 | -11 | 12 |
5 | China | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 | -13 | 9 |
6 | Bahrain | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 6 |
Fourth round - Group A
Group winner Qatar qualified directly; runner-up UAE advanced to the AFC fifth round / inter-confederation play-off.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Qatar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
2 | United Arab Emirates | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
3 | Oman | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
Fourth round - Group B
Group winner Saudi Arabia qualified directly; runner-up Iraq advanced to the AFC fifth round / inter-confederation play-off.
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Saudi Arabia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
2 | Iraq | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
3 | Indonesia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org