The third round of
AFC matches for the
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will be the qualifying process which will decide the teams that will join hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Qualified countries
Notes
Qualification process
On 9 M ...
will be played from 5 September 2024 to 10 June 2025.
Format
The eighteen teams that advanced from the
second round
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...
(nine group winners and nine group runners-up) were divided into three groups of six teams. The teams will play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams of each group will qualify directly for the
2026 FIFA World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three No ...
, while the third and fourth-placed teams will advance to the
fourth round.
From the teams that advance to the fourth round, the two teams with the best results in this round also receive the right to host the fourth round groups.
Qualified teams
The following teams finished first or second in their respective second round groups:
Draw
The draw for the third round was held on 27 June 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The seeding for the draw was based on the
FIFA Men's World Rankings on 20 June 2024 (shown in parentheses below).
Each group contains one team from each of the six pots. The draw started with Pot 6 and concluded with Pot 1, with each team drawn being placed in the corresponding position sequentially in Group A, then B, then C.
Schedule
The competition schedule is expected to be as follows:
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Goalscorers
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:2026 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC third round
3
2024 in Asian football
2025 in Asian football
FIFA World Cup qualification, AFC Round 3
FIFA World Cup qualification, AFC Round 3