The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) officially unveiled the schedule for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, which basically matches previous reports from the domestic media. The original 12-team tournament has been upgraded to an 18-team tournament with a significantly higher level of competition. Although the number of places in the Asian zone has increased to 8.5, the Chinese men's soccer team's road to the World Cup is still rough and bumpy.
The AFC's official website revealed that a total of 45 Asian teams are competing in the tournament, which is divided into four stages. In the first stage, the 18 lowest-ranked teams play two rounds of home-and-away matches, with the winners advancing to the second stage. In this stage, the winning nine teams will compete with the top 27 teams in the Asian world rankings for the top 36 spots, divided into nine groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group advance to the third stage after home and away matches.
The third stage is crucial as the status of the top 12 is upgraded to the top 18.The 18 teams are divided into three groups of six teams each. The top two teams in the group after the home and away games go through to the 2026 World Cup. In the third stage, the six teams from the third and fourth in the group advance to the fourth stage. The six teams are split into two groups of three teams each for a single round robin showdown. The top of the group advances directly, while the two second-placed teams will play a play-off, with the winner representing Asia in the World Cup Intercontinental Play-offs.
Despite the increase in the number of World Cup slots, with 8.5 slots allocated to the Asian region, the competitive pressure on the participating teams has not diminished! Especially the Chinese men's soccer team dream of the World Cup trip, even with 8.5 places, to obtain the final qualification is still facing a huge challenge, especially in the second stage of the 36 rounds of the tournament, a total of nine groups, each group of four teams, in order to get out of the group, each game can not be a blunder.
In the past, the Chinese men's soccer team was still able to advance by virtue of finishing second in their group in the Top 40. Now in the 36-team tournament, only the top two in the group have a chance to advance. Will the Chinese men's soccer team be able to capitalize on this opportunity? If they succeed in finishing among the top 18, they are afraid that they will encounter difficulties if they want to stand out in the group in the face of stronger Asian opponents.
Thankfully, there are more pathways to qualify for the World Cup. In the past, there was only one intercontinental play-off pathway, but now after the 18-team tournament, there is a fourth stage of matches for the third and fourth place in the group, competing for the remaining two direct qualification spots, before the intercontinental play-offs. This means that the Chinese men's soccer team's path to the World Cup has been widened, and it's up to them to seize the opportunity.
Despite the increase in the number of pathways to advancement, the road to the World Cup remains long for the Chinese men's soccer team. Considering the current situation of the Chinese men's soccer team, the first task is to enter the 18-team tournament. Given the situation of local players, without the help of naturalized players, the road to realizing the dream of the World Cup is still full of challenges.
