The AFC have just announced the process for Asian World Cup qualifying for 2026.
8.5 spots, likely to be;
Iran
Japan
S.Korea
Saudi Arabia
Australia
UAE
2.5 of China / Oman / Uzbekistan / Iraq
The qualifying has been combined with the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying, and it's a bit of a clusterfuck.
- R1: Pre-qualifiyng to get rid of the likes of Guam, Bhutan and Macau
- R2: 9 groups of 4, top 2 qualifying for Round 3
- R3: 3 groups of 6, top 2 each group qualify for World Cup, position 3-4 go to R4
- R4: 2 groups of 3, top 1 each group qualify for World Cup, 2nd place teams playoff against each other, winner goes to R5
- R5: Intercontinental play-off, winner goes to World Cup
I doubt any Asian team will make the quarter-finals, unless South Korea can find a few more decent defenders.
The actual World Cup itself will be held in MexiCanAm(?) in the summer 2026.
16 groups of 3 teams () - which seems ripe for a lot of 0-0 draws in the final group games. Top 2 teams from each group head to the knockouts. It's kinda shit that a lot of not great teams will be there, but at the same time, it should be interesting to watch Peru versus Cape Verde.