Picture: international striker Wu Lei (L) in a fierce scramble during a World Cup outing. FILE PHOTO.
[Ta Kung Pao] The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the AFC Asian Cup have officially announced the unveiling of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Outside Competition System.The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will see an increase in the number of participating teams to 48, with the Asian Confederation receiving 8.5 seats.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers are divided into four stages.
Stage 1: The 22 teams ranked 26 to 47 in Asia will play a two-legged home-and-away series, with the 11 winners advancing to the second stage.
Stage 2: Birth of the Top 18
2026 FIFA World Cup & 2027 Asian Cup Joint Qualifying Tournament Stage 2: 36 teams (top 25 Asian ranked teams and 11 teams promoted from Stage 1) are divided into 9 groups, each group of 4 teams to play home and away round-robin matches, with the top two teams of the group totaling 18 teams advancing to the AFC Asian Qualifying Tournament, while qualifying for the final week of the 2027 Asian Cup.
Stage 3: Asia Association Asian Qualifiers (i.e. the old 12-team stage of the tournament, upgraded to 18-team tournament): 18 teams are divided into 3 groups, each group of 6 teams to play a round-robin tournament of home and away matches, with the top two teams in each group totaling 6 teams qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Stage 4: Asian Play-Offs: In the three groups of the Asian Association of Asian Football (AAP) Asian Play-Offs, the six teams that finish third and fourth in their groups are divided into two groups of three teams each playing a single round-robin match. The first of the two groups advances directly to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the second of the two groups will play a play-off to determine the winner, who will represent Asia in the World Football Intercontinental Play-offs.
