Iran, Qatar favourites in Group A as Asian nations eye World Cup spots
The Peninsula
Doha: The crucial third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers gets underway tomorrow with 18 nations looking to seal their spots in the fo...
Doha: The crucial third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers gets underway tomorrow with 18 nations looking to seal their spots in the football showpiece.
The teams, which advanced from the second round, are divided into three groups and they would continue to fight for six available berths in the round until June 2025 on a home-and-away basis.
The winners and runners-up from each of the three groups will secure automatic qualification while sides that will finish third and fourth in the round-robin format, will advance to the fourth round where two more spots will be up for grabs.
The runners from the fourth round will then square off to determine Asia’s representative at the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off Tournament. The FIFA World Cup 2026 to be staged in Canada, Mexico, and the United States will feature 48 nations for the first time.
Exciting clashes in tricky groups