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2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification

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2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates12 October 2023 – 31 March 2026
Teams46 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played133
Goals scored397 (2.98 per match)
Attendance2,254,832 (16,954 per match)
Top scorer(s)Qatar Almoez Ali
South Korea Son Heung-min
(7 goals each)
← 2023 2031 → All statistics correct as of 10 September 2024.
International football competition
AFC Asian Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
AFC Asian Cup

The 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification is the qualification process organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the participating teams for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, the 19th edition of the international men's football championship of Asia.

The qualification process involves a total of four rounds, where the first two rounds double as the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification for Asian teams, with the final two solely for 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

Format

The qualification structure is as follows:

  • First round: 20 teams (ranked 27–46) will play home-and-away over two legs.
    • 10 winners advance to the second round.
    • 3 best ranked losing teams advance to the third round of Asian Cup qualification.
    • 6 worst ranked losing teams advance to the play-off round of Asian Cup qualification.
  • Second round: 36 teams (ranked 1–26 and 10 first-round winners) are divided into 9 groups of 4 teams to play home-and-away double round-robin matches.
    • The 9 group winners and 9 group runners-up qualify for the Asian Cup along with host Saudi Arabia and advance to the third round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
    • The remaining 18 teams advance to the third round of Asian Cup qualification.
  • Play-off round: 6 teams (the worst ranked losing teams from the first round) will play home-and-away over two legs that determine the final 3 qualifiers for the third round.
  • Third round: 24 teams (3 best ranked losing team from the first round + 18 third and fourth-placed teams from the second round + 3 winners from the play-off round) will be divided into 6 groups of 4 teams to play home-and-away double round-robin matches and the winner of each group will occupy the remaining 6 slots for the Asian Cup.

Entrants

Forty-six FIFA-affiliated nations are eligible to enter the joint qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup; Northern Mariana Islands, which is not a FIFA member, would have entered through the play-off round. However, it was not included in the draw for the play-off round.

The draw for the first and second rounds of joint qualification took place on 27 July 2023. Teams were seeded into four pots. Pots 1, 2 and 3 contain the teams ranked 1–9, 10-18 and 19-26 respectively, while Pot 4 contains the remaining 20 teams (ranked 27–46). All teams from Pot 4 were drawn to the first round into two pots. Teams from Pots 1, 2 and 3 were drawn directly to the second round, along with an allocated first-round tie winner.

From the July 2023 FIFA World Rankings
Bye to second round Competing in first round
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 1 Pot 2
  1.  Japan (20)
  2.  Iran (22)
  3.  Australia (27)
  4.  South Korea (28)
  5.  Saudi Arabia (54)
  6.  Qatar (59)
  7.  Iraq (70)
  8.  United Arab Emirates (72)
  9.  Oman (73)
  1.  Uzbekistan (74)
  2.  China (80)
  3.  Jordan (82)
  4.  Bahrain (86)
  5.  Syria (94)
  6.  Vietnam (95)
  7.  Palestine (96)
  8.  Kyrgyzstan (97)
  9.  India (99)
  1.  Lebanon (100)
  2.  Tajikistan (110)
  3.  Thailand (113)
  4.  North Korea (115)
  5.  Philippines (135)
  6.  Malaysia (136)
  7.  Kuwait (137)
  8.  Turkmenistan (138)
  1.  Hong Kong (149)
  2.  Indonesia (150)
  3.  Chinese Taipei (153)
  4.  Maldives (155)
  5.  Yemen (156)
  6.  Afghanistan (157)
  7.  Singapore (158)
  8.  Myanmar (160)
  9.    Nepal (175)
  10.  Cambodia (176)
  1.  Macau (182)
  2.  Mongolia (183)
  3.  Bhutan (185)
  4.  Laos (187)
  5.  Bangladesh (189)
  6.  Brunei (190)
  7.  East Timor (192)
  8.  Pakistan (201)
  9.  Guam (203)
  10.  Sri Lanka (204)

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is expected to be as follows, according to the AFC Competitions Calendar. This is the first Asian Cup qualification that starts before the previous final matches would be held, as the 2023 AFC Asian Cup was postponed to early 2024.

Round Matchday Date(s)
First round First leg 12 October 2023
Second leg 17 October 2023
Second round Matchday 1 16 November 2023
Matchday 2 21 November 2023
Matchday 3 21 March 2024
Matchday 4 26 March 2024
Matchday 5 6 June 2024
Matchday 6 11 June 2024
Round Matchday Date
Play-off round First leg 5–6 September 2024
Second leg 10 September 2024
Third round Matchday 1 25 March 2025
Matchday 2 10 June 2025
Matchday 3 9 October 2025
Matchday 4 14 October 2025
Matchday 5 18 November 2025
Matchday 6 31 March 2026

First round

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round

The draw for the first round was held on 27 July 2023 at 14:00 MST (UTC+8) at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Summary

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Afghanistan 2–0 Mongolia1–01–0
Maldives 2–3 Bangladesh1–11–2
Singapore 3–1 Guam2–11–0
Yemen 4–1 Sri Lanka3–01–1
Myanmar 5–1 Macau5–10–0
Cambodia 0–1 Pakistan0–00–1
Chinese Taipei 7–0 East Timor4–03–0
Indonesia 12–0 Brunei6–06–0
Hong Kong 4–2 Bhutan4–00–2
Nepal   2–1 Laos1–11–0

Ranking of best losing teams

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bhutan 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round
2  Maldives 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 1
3  Laos 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
4  Cambodia 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 1 Asian Cup qualifying play-off round
5  Sri Lanka 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
6  Macau 2 0 1 1 1 5 −4 1
7  Guam 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0 Not participating in play-off round
8  Mongolia 2 0 0 2 0 2 −2 0 Asian Cup qualifying play-off round
9  East Timor 2 0 0 2 0 7 −7 0
10  Brunei 2 0 0 2 0 12 −12 0
Source: AFC

Second round

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

The draw for the second round was held on 27 July 2023 at 16:00 MST (UTC+8) at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Qatar Kuwait India Afghanistan
1  Qatar 6 5 1 0 18 3 +15 16 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 3–0 2–1 8–1
2  Kuwait 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7 1–2 — 0–1 1–0
3  India 6 1 2 3 3 7 −4 5 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 0–0 — 1–2
4  Afghanistan 6 1 2 3 3 14 −11 5 0–0 0–4 0–0 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Japan North Korea Syria Myanmar
1  Japan 6 6 0 0 24 0 +24 18 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–0 5–0 5–0
2  North Korea 6 3 0 3 11 7 +4 9 0–3 — 1–0 4–1
3  Syria 6 2 1 3 9 12 −3 7 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–5 1–0 — 7–0
4  Myanmar 6 0 1 5 3 28 −25 1 0–5 1–6 1–1 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Japan were awarded a 3–0 victory by forfeit, after North Korea refused to host the match citing concerns about a disease spreading in Japan.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Korea China Thailand Singapore
1  South Korea 6 5 1 0 20 1 +19 16 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–0 1–1 5–0
2  China 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8 0–3 — 1–1 4–1
3  Thailand 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 1–2 — 3–1
4  Singapore 6 0 1 5 5 24 −19 1 0–7 2–2 1–3 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ Head-to-head points: China 4, Thailand 1.

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Oman Kyrgyzstan Malaysia Chinese Taipei
1  Oman 6 4 1 1 11 2 +9 13 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–1 2–0 3–0
2  Kyrgyzstan 6 3 2 1 13 7 +6 11 1–0 — 1–1 5–1
3  Malaysia 6 3 1 2 9 9 0 10 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–2 4–3 — 3–1
4  Chinese Taipei 6 0 0 6 2 17 −15 0 0–3 0–2 0–1 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iran Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Hong Kong
1  Iran 6 4 2 0 16 4 +12 14 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 0–0 5–0 4–0
2  Uzbekistan 6 4 2 0 13 4 +9 14 2–2 — 3–1 3–0
3  Turkmenistan 6 0 2 4 4 14 −10 2 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 1–3 — 0–0
4  Hong Kong 6 0 2 4 4 15 −11 2 2–4 0–2 2–2 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Iraq Indonesia Vietnam Philippines
1  Iraq 6 6 0 0 17 2 +15 18 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 5–1 3–1 1–0
2  Indonesia 6 3 1 2 8 8 0 10 0–2 — 1–0 2–0
3  Vietnam 6 2 0 4 6 10 −4 6 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–1 0–3 — 3–2
4  Philippines 6 0 1 5 3 14 −11 1 0–5 1–1 0–2 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Jordan Saudi Arabia Tajikistan Pakistan
1  Jordan 6 4 1 1 16 4 +12 13 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 0–2 3–0 7–0
2  Saudi Arabia 6 4 1 1 12 3 +9 13 World Cup qualifying third round 1–2 — 1–0 4–0
3  Tajikistan 6 2 2 2 11 7 +4 8 Asian Cup qualifying third round 1–1 1–1 — 3–0
4  Pakistan 6 0 0 6 1 26 −25 0 0–3 0–3 1–6 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Saudi Arabia already qualified for the Asian Cup as the host nation and only competed to qualify for the World Cup.

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification United Arab Emirates Bahrain Yemen Nepal
1  United Arab Emirates 6 5 1 0 16 2 +14 16 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 1–1 2–1 4–0
2  Bahrain 6 3 2 1 11 3 +8 11 0–2 — 0–0 3–0
3  Yemen 6 1 2 3 5 9 −4 5 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–3 0–2 — 2–2
4    Nepal 6 0 1 5 2 20 −18 1 0–4 0–5 0–2 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Australia State of Palestine Lebanon Bangladesh
1  Australia 6 6 0 0 22 0 +22 18 World Cup qualifying third round and Asian Cup — 5–0 2–0 7–0
2  Palestine 6 2 2 2 6 6 0 8 0–1 — 0–0 5–0
3  Lebanon 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6 Asian Cup qualifying third round 0–5 0–0 — 4–0
4  Bangladesh 6 0 1 5 1 20 −19 1 0–2 0–1 1–1 —
Source: FIFA AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Play-off round

Main article: 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Sri Lanka 2–2 (4–2 p) Cambodia0–02–2 (a.e.t.)
East Timor 4–3 Mongolia4–10–2
Brunei 4–0 Macau3–01–0

Third round

Groups

Main article: 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round
2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification tiebreakers
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers will be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 7.3):
  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying criteria 1 to 3, a subset of teams is still tied, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they meet in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Tajikistan Philippines Maldives East Timor
1  Tajikistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFC Asian Cup — 31 Mar '26 9 Oct 25 Mar
2  Philippines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun — 18 Nov 14 Oct
3  Maldives 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Oct 25 Mar — 31 Mar '26
4  East Timor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Nov 9 Oct 10 Jun —
First match(es) will be played: 25 March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Lebanon Yemen Bhutan Brunei
1  Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFC Asian Cup — 31 Mar '26 9 Oct 25 Mar
2  Yemen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun — 18 Nov 14 Oct
3  Bhutan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Oct 25 Mar — 31 Mar '26
4  Brunei 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Nov 9 Oct 10 Jun —
First match(es) will be played: 25 March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification India Hong Kong Singapore Bangladesh
1  India 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFC Asian Cup — 31 Mar '26 9 Oct 25 Mar
2  Hong Kong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun — 18 Nov 14 Oct
3  Singapore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Oct 25 Mar — 31 Mar '26
4  Bangladesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Nov 9 Oct 10 Jun —
First match(es) will be played: 25 March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Thailand Turkmenistan Chinese Taipei Sri Lanka
1  Thailand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFC Asian Cup — 31 Mar '26 9 Oct 25 Mar
2  Turkmenistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun — 18 Nov 14 Oct
3  Chinese Taipei 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Oct 25 Mar — 31 Mar '26
4  Sri Lanka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Nov 9 Oct 10 Jun —
First match(es) will be played: 25 March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Syria Afghanistan Myanmar Pakistan
1  Syria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFC Asian Cup — 31 Mar '26 9 Oct 25 Mar
2  Afghanistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun — 18 Nov 14 Oct
3  Myanmar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Oct 25 Mar — 31 Mar '26
4  Pakistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Nov 9 Oct 10 Jun —
First match(es) will be played: 25 March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Vietnam Malaysia Nepal Laos
1  Vietnam 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFC Asian Cup — 31 Mar '26 9 Oct 25 Mar
2  Malaysia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun — 18 Nov 14 Oct
3    Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Oct 25 Mar — 31 Mar '26
4  Laos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Nov 10 Jun 9 Oct —
First match(es) will be played: 25 March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Qualified teams

A total of 24 teams will qualify for the final tournament including the host Saudi Arabia.

Team Method of
qualification 		Date of
qualification 		Finals
appearances 		Last
appearance 		Previous best
performance
 Saudi Arabia Hosts 1 February 2023 12th 2023 Winners (1984, 1988, 1996)
 Australia Second round Group I winners 26 March 2024 6th 2023 Winners (2015)
 Iraq Second round Group F winners 26 March 2024 11th 2023 Winners (2007)
 Iran Second round Group E winners 26 March 2024 16th 2023 Winners (1968, 1972, 1976)
 Uzbekistan Second round Group E runners-up 26 March 2024 9th 2023 Fourth place (2011)
 Qatar Second round Group A winners 26 March 2024 12th 2023 Winners (2019, 2023)
 United Arab Emirates Second round Group H winners 26 March 2024 12th 2023 Runners-up (1996)
 Japan Second round Group B winners 2 April 2024 11th 2023 Winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011)
 South Korea Second round Group C winners 6 June 2024 16th 2023 Winners (1956, 1960)
 Oman Second round Group D winners 6 June 2024 6th 2023 Round of 16 (2019)
 Palestine Second round Group I runners-up 6 June 2024 4th 2023 Round of 16 (2023)
 Bahrain Second round Group H runners-up 6 June 2024 8th 2023 Fourth place (2004)
 Jordan Second round Group G winners 6 June 2024 6th 2023 Runners-up (2023)
 China Second round Group C runners-up 11 June 2024 14th 2023 Runners-up (1984, 2004)
 Indonesia Second round Group F runners-up 11 June 2024 6th 2023 Round of 16 (2023)
 North Korea Second round Group B runners-up 11 June 2024 6th 2019 Fourth place (1980)
 Kuwait Second round Group A runners-up 11 June 2024 11th 2015 Winners (1980)
 Kyrgyzstan Second round Group D runners-up 11 June 2024 3rd 2023 Round of 16 (2019)
TBD Third round group A winners
TBD Third round group B winners
TBD Third round group C winners
TBD Third round group D winners
TBD Third round group E winners
TBD Third round group F winners

Top goalscorers

There have been 397 goals scored in 133 matches, for an average of 2.98 goals per match (as of 10 September 2024). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

The lists below show all goal scorers for each round:

See also

Notes

  1. Saudi Arabia participated to reach the World Cup.
  2. ^ Originally this was announced to be 10 teams (9 worst ranked losing teams from the first round + Northern Mariana Islands). However, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands were not included in the draw for the play-off round announced on 1 May 2024.

References

  1. ^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Six teams to contest Qualifiers Playoff for Saudi Arabia 2027". AFC. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023.
  4. Nasir, Saad (23 June 2023). "Pakistan's Draws for FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Revealed". ProSports. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  5. "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2023". FIFA. 20 July 2023.
  6. "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2023 - Jul 2024)" (PDF). AFC.
  7. "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2024 - Jul 2025)" (PDF). AFC.
  8. "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2025 - Jul 2026)" (PDF). AFC.
  9. "AFC Asian Cup 2027 Saudi Arabia Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 9 August 2024. p. 25.
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