2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12–17 October 2023 |
| Teams | 20 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 20 |
| Goals scored | 51 (2.55 per match) |
| Attendance | 138,247 (6,912 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Dimas Drajad Ramadhan Sananta(3 goals each) |
← 2022 2030 → | |
The AFC first round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which also served as the first round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, was played from 12 to 17 October 2023.[1]
Format
A total of twenty teams were drawn into ten home-and-away ties, the winners of which advanced to the second round.[2] As the second round draw occurred on the same date as the first round draw,[3] each winner already knew their second round schedule.
Schedule
The schedule was as follows:[1]
| Matchday | Date(s) | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | 12 October 2023 | 1 v 2 |
| Matchday 2 | 17 October 2023 | 2 v 1 |
Draw
The draw for the first round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4]
These 20 teams were divided into ten pairings, with each pair playing home and away across 12 and 17 October 2023. The numbers in parentheses indicate the FIFA Men's World Ranking of July 2023.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
|
Summary
The ten winners advanced to the second round of qualifying.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan  | 2–0 |  Mongolia | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Maldives  | 2–3 |  Bangladesh | 1–1 | 1–2 |
Singapore  | 3–1 |  Guam | 2–1 | 1–0 |
Yemen  | 4–1 |  Sri Lanka | 3–0 | 1–1 |
Myanmar  | 5–1 |  Macau | 5–1 | 0–0 |
Cambodia  | 0–1 |  Pakistan | 0–0 | 0–1 |
Chinese Taipei  | 7–0 |  East Timor | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| Indonesia | 12–0 |  Brunei | 6–0 | 6–0 |
Hong Kong  | 4–2 |  Bhutan | 4–0 | 0–2 |
Nepal  | 2–1 |  Laos | 1–1 | 1–0 |
Matches
| Afghanistan | 1–0 | Mongolia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Mongolia | 0–1 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Afghanistan won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
| Maldives | 1–1 | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Bangladesh | 2–1 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Bangladesh won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Singapore won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
| Yemen | 3–0 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Sri Lanka | 1–1 | Yemen |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Yemen won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
| Myanmar | 5–1 | Macau |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Myanmar won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Pakistan won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
| Chinese Taipei | 4–0 | East Timor |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| East Timor | 0–3 | Chinese Taipei |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Chinese Taipei won 7–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Indonesia won 12–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Hong Kong won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Nepal won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.
Ranking of best losing teams
The first round doubled as preliminary qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. As originally planned, the top-ranked losing team would progress directly to the third round of Asian Cup qualifying, while the remainder would join the Northern Mariana Islands in the play-off round.[7][8] However, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands were not included in the draw for the play-off round announced on 1 May 2024. This resulted in the top three losing teams (Bhutan, Maldives, and Laos) moving directly to the third round, and the remaining six teams entering the play-off round.[9]
| 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 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Lower disciplinary points total; 5) Drawing of lots.[10]
Goalscorers
There were 51 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 2.55 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Farshad Noor
- Jabar Sharza
- Foysal Ahmed Fahim
- Rakib Hossain
- Md Saad Uddin
- Lobzang Chogyal
- Chencho Gyeltshen
- Ange Kouamé
- Chen Ting-yang
- Ko Yu-ting
- Wu Yen-shu
- Yu Chia-huang
- Jason Cunliffe
- Shinichi Chan
- Egy Maulana Vikri
- Witan Sulaeman
- Bounphachan Bounkong
- Niki Torrão
- Aisam Ibrahim
- Hassan Nazeem
- Aung Kaung Mann
- Nay Moe Naing
- Soe Moe Kyaw
- Anjan Bista
- Manish Dangi
- Harun Hamid
- Shawal Anuar
- Jacob Mahler
- Christopher van Huizen
- Charitha Rathnayake
- Nasser Al-Gahwashi
- Ahmed Maher
1 own goal
- Tenzin Norbu (against Hong Kong)
Notes
- ^ Sri Lanka was suspended for government interference in football, but was provisionally included in the draw, pending a resolution.[5] After the issue was settled, the ban was lifted, allowing the team to participate.[6]
- ^ Afghanistan played their home game at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Afghan conflict.
- ^ Yemen played their home game at a neutral venue due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen.
- ^ Timor-Leste played their home game in Kaohsiung, due to the National Stadium in Dili failing to meet FIFA standards.
References
- ^ a b "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2023 - Jul 2024)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jun 2023 - May 2024)". AFC. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Seedings revealed for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Football ban : New update from FIFA". Newswire. 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Bureau of the FIFA Council lifts suspension on Football Federation of Sri Lanka". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "Asia's pathway to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 confirmed". AFC. 1 August 2022.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Six teams to contest Qualifiers Playoff for Saudi Arabia 2027". AFC. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation.