Discussion Road to Canada , Mexico & USA - 2026 FIFA World Cup
- Thread starter Herbie66
- Start date
AFC
The qualification structure is as follows:
The qualification structure is as follows:
- First round: Twenty teams (ranked 27–46) will play home-and-away over two legs.[6] The ten winners advance to the second round.
- Second round: Thirty-six teams (those ranked 1–26 and the ten first-round winners) will be divided into nine groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eighteen group winners and group runners-up advance to the third round.
- Third round: The eighteen teams that advance from the second round will be divided into three groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the third-placed and fourth-placed teams of each group will advance to the fourth round.
- Fourth round: The six teams that advance from the third round will be divided into two groups of three teams each to play a single round-robin. The winners will qualify for the World Cup.
- Fifth round: The fourth round group runners-up will compete in a two-legged play-off tie to determine the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-o***.
