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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
Tournament details
Dates16 November 2023 – 11 June 2024
Teams36 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played107
Goals scored331 (3.09 per match)
Attendance2,092,613 (19,557 per match)
Top scorer(s)Qatar Almoez Ali
South Korea Son Heung-min
(7 goals each)
2022
2030

The second round of 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualification, which also served as the second round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, began on 16 November 2023 and was completed on 11 June 2024.[1][2]

Format

[edit]

A total of 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four to play home-and-away round-robin matches. They included the 26 teams which received byes to this round, and the 10 winners from the first round.[3]

The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the third round and qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The third and fourth place teams advanced to the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualification.[4]

Seeding

[edit]

The draw for the second round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[5]

The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2023 (shown in parentheses below). The identities of the first round winners were not known at the time of the draw.

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1.  Japan (20)
  2.  Iran (22)
  3.  Australia (27)
  4.  South Korea (28)
  5.  Saudi Arabia (54)[note 1]
  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.  Yemen (156)†‡
  5.  Afghanistan (157)
  6.  Singapore (158)
  7.  Myanmar (160)
  8.    Nepal (175)
  9.  Bangladesh (189)
  10.  Pakistan (201)

Teams whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
Team moved to Pot 3 after the other Pot 4 teams had been drawn into groups; subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3.

Schedule

[edit]

The match schedule was as follows.[1]

Matchday Date(s)
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

Group A

[edit]

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
Qatar 8–1 Afghanistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 19,374
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Kuwait 0–1 India
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Afghanistan 0–4 Kuwait
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 330
Referee: Ahmed Faisal Al-Ali (Jordan)
India 0–3 Qatar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Qatar 3–0 Kuwait
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Afghanistan 0–0 India
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 3,900

India 1–2 Afghanistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 8,932
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
Kuwait 1–2 Qatar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 8,460
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)

Afghanistan 0–0 Qatar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
India 0–0 Kuwait
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 58,921
Referee: Fu Ming (China)

Qatar 2–1 India
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,816
Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)
Kuwait 1–0 Afghanistan
Al Rashidi 81' Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,680
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

Group B

[edit]

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[a] 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.
Japan 5–0 Myanmar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Syria 1–0 North Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Myanmar 1–6 North Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,500
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Syria 0–5 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,130
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Japan 1–0 North Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 59,354
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Myanmar 1–1 Syria
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 7,580
Referee: Hassan Akrami (Iran)

Syria 7–0 Myanmar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 3,252
North Korea 0–3
Awarded[note 5]
 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Myanmar 0–5 Japan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
North Korea 1–0 Syria
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 100
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)

Japan 5–0 Syria
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 26,650
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
North Korea 4–1 Myanmar
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Group C

[edit]

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[a] 0–3 1–1 4–1
3  Thailand 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8[a] 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. ^ a b Head-to-head points: China 4, Thailand 1.
South Korea 5–0 Singapore
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,381
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)
Thailand 1–2 China
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 35,009
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)

Singapore 1–3 Thailand
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 29,644
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
China 0–3 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

South Korea 1–1 Thailand
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,912
Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)
Singapore 2–2 China
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 28,414

China 4–1 Singapore
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 42,977
Referee: Omar Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Thailand 0–3 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 45,458

Singapore 0–7 South Korea
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 49,097
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
China 1–1 Thailand
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 46,979
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

South Korea 1–0 China
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,935
Referee: Mohammed Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
Thailand 3–1 Singapore
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Group D

[edit]

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
Oman 3–0 Chinese Taipei
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 4,155
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
Malaysia 4–3 Kyrgyzstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 17,142
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)

Chinese Taipei 0–1 Malaysia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Kyrgyzstan 1–0 Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Chinese Taipei 0–2 Kyrgyzstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 1,028
Referee: Yahya Al-Mulla (United Arab Emirates)
Oman 2–0 Malaysia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 21,836
Referee: Fu Ming (China)

Kyrgyzstan 5–1 Chinese Taipei
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,657
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Malaysia 0–2 Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Chinese Taipei 0–3 Oman
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 5,700
Referee: Zaid Thamer (Iraq)
Kyrgyzstan 1–1 Malaysia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Oman 1–1 Kyrgyzstan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Malaysia 3–1 Chinese Taipei
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Yu Yao-hsing 20'
Attendance: 14,731
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)

Group E

[edit]

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
Iran 4–0 Hong Kong
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,191
Turkmenistan 1–3 Uzbekistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 19,500
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

Hong Kong 2–2 Turkmenistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,601
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Uzbekistan 2–2 Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Hong Kong 0–2 Uzbekistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,263
Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)
Iran 5–0 Turkmenistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 23,109
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

Uzbekistan 3–0 Hong Kong
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 29,584
Referee: Ahmed Faisal Al-Ali (Jordan)
Turkmenistan 0–1 Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 10,230

Hong Kong 2–4 Iran
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,992
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
Uzbekistan 3–1 Turkmenistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 27,306
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

Iran 0–0 Uzbekistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 15,468
Turkmenistan 0–0 Hong Kong
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 10,324
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Group F

[edit]

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
Iraq 5–1 Indonesia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,447
Referee: Ahmed Eisa (United Arab Emirates)
Philippines 0–2 Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 10,378
Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)

Philippines 1–1 Indonesia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Vietnam 0–1 Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 20,568
Referee: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)

Iraq 1–0 Philippines
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 63,750
Referee: Abdullah Jamali (Kuwait)
Indonesia 1–0 Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 57,696
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)

Vietnam 0–3 Indonesia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Philippines 0–5 Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Indonesia 0–2 Iraq
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Vietnam 3–2 Philippines
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,568
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Iraq 3–1 Vietnam
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 42,791
Referee: Omar Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Indonesia 2–0 Philippines
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 64,842
Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)

Group G

[edit]

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[a] 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.
Saudi Arabia 4–0 Pakistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 11,150
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)
Tajikistan 1–1 Jordan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,650
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

Pakistan 1–6 Tajikistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 18,316
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)
Jordan 0–2 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,845
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Pakistan 0–3 Jordan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 9,625
Referee: Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan)
Saudi Arabia 1–0 Tajikistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Jordan 7–0 Pakistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 14,695
Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)
Tajikistan 1–1 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,300

Pakistan 0–3 Saudi Arabia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 20,124
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)
Jordan 3–0 Tajikistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 14,795
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Tajikistan 3–0 Pakistan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 7,800
Saudi Arabia 1–2 Jordan
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 17,871
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Group H

[edit]

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
United Arab Emirates 4–0   Nepal
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Yemen 0–2 Bahrain
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Nepal   0–2 Yemen
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 13,735
Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)
Bahrain 0–2 United Arab Emirates
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 18,267
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

United Arab Emirates 2–1 Yemen
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Nepal   0–5 Bahrain
Report (FIFA)
Attendance: 5,041
Referee: Alex King (Australia)

Bahrain 3–0   Nepal
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,475
Referee: Ryo Tanimoto (Japan)
Yemen 0–3 United Arab Emirates
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 1,135
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Nepal   0–4 United Arab Emirates
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 2,450
Referee: Payam Heydari (Iran)
Bahrain 0–0 Yemen
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

United Arab Emirates 1–1 Bahrain
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 953
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Yemen 2–2   Nepal
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 905
Referee: Ahmad Ibrahim (Jordan)

Group I

[edit]

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
Australia 7–0 Bangladesh
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 20,876
Referee: Ahrol Risqullaev (Uzbekistan)
Lebanon 0–0 Palestine
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 200

Bangladesh 1–1 Lebanon
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 6,297
Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)
Palestine 0–1 Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 14,537
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)

Australia 2–0 Lebanon
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 27,026
Palestine 5–0 Bangladesh
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Bangladesh 0–1 Palestine
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 5,195
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Lebanon 0–5 Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 25,023

Bangladesh 0–2 Australia
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 5,227
Referee: Jansen Foo (Singapore)
Palestine 0–0 Lebanon
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Australia 5–0 Palestine
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Attendance: 18,261
Referee: Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)
Lebanon 4–0 Bangladesh
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)

Goalscorers

[edit]

There were 331 goals scored in 107 matches, for an average of 3.09 goals per match.

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Saudi Arabia has already qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup as tournament hosts and are competing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  2. ^ a b c Afghanistan played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Afghan conflict.
  3. ^ a b The hosting duties for the matches between North Korea and Syria were swapped on 2 November 2023.[6]
  4. ^ a b c Syria played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.
  5. ^ Japan were awarded a 3–0 victory by forfeit, after North Korea refused to host the match due to "a malignant infectious disease" spreading in Japan.[8][9]
  6. ^ a b Following the incident over North Korea's refusal to host home game against Japan, North Korea played their home matches in a neutral ground, per Syria's request.[10]
  7. ^ a b Indonesia and Philippines swapped their fixtures on 31 October 2023, due to Indonesia hosting the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[11]
  8. ^ a b c Yemen played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Yemeni civil war.
  9. ^ a b Nepal played their final two home matches at a neutral venue due to the Dasharath Rangasala failing to meet FIFA standard.[13]
  10. ^ a b Lebanon played all their home matches at a neutral venue until further notice, due to the adjacent Israel–Hamas war.[14][15]
  11. ^ a b c Palestine played all their home matches at a neutral venue until further notice, due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.[14][16]
  12. ^ a b Bangladesh was originally scheduled to host Palestine on 21 March 2024 with Palestine hosting the return fixture on 26 March in Kuwait. However, the order was later reversed due to Kuwait hosting Qatar also on 26 March.[17]
  13. ^ Lebanon played this home match in Australia, following AFC approval, due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.[18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2023 - Jul 2024)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  2. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2024 - Jul 2025)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Seedings revealed for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Asia's pathway to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 confirmed". AFC. 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023.
  6. ^ "'4년 만의 월드컵 복귀' 북한 축구, 홈 아닌 제3국서 예선 1차전". Hankyung (in Korean). 2 November 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  7. ^ "2023 FIFA Refereeing International Lists" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Football: North Korea not to host World Cup qualifier vs Japan". Mainichi Daily News. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Japan awarded 3-0 forfeit win against North Korea". BBC Sport. 30 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  10. ^ Smith, Joe (20 May 2024). "World Cup qualifier in North Korea scrapped again; DPRK to face Syria in Laos". NK News. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
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