In the fierce competition for the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament between the United States, Canada and Mexico, the first round of the second phase of the Asian zone has been completed, the fifth round of the South American zone has come to a synchronized end, and the African zone has just kicked off the battle. It is worth mentioning that Europe, North and Central America, the Caribbean and Oceania are still on hold. Our men's soccer team beat their rivals Thailand in the first round of the tournament with a brilliant goal to get three points, and the situation is bright. Hopes of competing for a top 18 finish are high, but the second phase of the grouping remains to be watched.
Group A: Afghanistan 8-1 Qatar; India 0-1 Kuwait
Group B: Japan 5-0 Myanmar; Syria 1-0 North Korea
Group C: China Thailand 1-2; Singapore Korea 5-0
Group D: Chinese Taipei Oman 3-0; Malaysia 4-3 Kyrgyzstan
Group E: Iran, Hong Kong, China 4-0; Turkmenistan 1-3 Uzbekistan
Group F: 0-2 Viet Nam Philippines; 5-1 Indonesia
Group G: Saudi Arabia 4-0 Pakistan; Tajikistan 1-1 Jordan
Group H: UAE 4-0 Nepal; Yemen 0-2 Bahrain
Group I: Bangladesh, Australia 7-0; Lebanon 0-0 Palestine
China's men's soccer team is in Group C, with South Korea. South Korea beat Singapore 5-0, and China's men's soccer team is second in the group. The situation is good on the surface, but it must not be taken lightly. Although the two rounds of matches with South Korea have not yet been played, we must win the two rounds of matches with Singapore. Singapore's offense is not strong, but their iron bucket formation is not easy to break through, our men's soccer team needs to be vigilant. In addition, the next round of matches against Thailand is also critical to ensure that goals are scored.
In the other groups, Indian soccer is on the rise as India beat Kuwait away in Group A. North Korea lost to Syria in Group B. Only North Korea lost in the first round of the East Asian semifinals, while Malaysia beat Kyrgyzstan in Group D. The strength of Southeast Asian teams is gradually increasing. Only Group G and Group I saw draws in the first round, while all other matches were decided by winners and losers. The biggest scores were Australia's 7-0 win over Bangladesh and Qatar's 8-1 win over Afghanistan. In addition, South Korea and Japan both won by five goals, while Iran, Iraq, UAE and Saudi Arabia all won by four goals.
Second Round Schedule
Kuwait Afghanistan vs. [11-22011:00]
Saudi Arabia Jordan vs. [11-22000:00]
UAE Bahrain vs. [11-2123:45]
Japan Syria vs. [11-212222:45]
Australia, Palestine vs [11-2122222:00]
Kyrgyzstan vs. Oman [11-212222:00
11-212 India vs Qatar:30]
11-2121 Nepal vs Yemen:15]
Iran Uzbekistan [11-212121:00]
11-21200 Hong Kong, China vs. Turkmenistan:00]
South Korea China vs. [11-21200:00]
Thailand Singapore vs. [11-21200:00]
Iraq Vietnam vs. [11-2120:00]
Bangladesh vs. Lebanon [11-2119:45]
Indonesia Philippines vs. [11-2119:00]
Malaysia, Chinese Taipei vs. [11-2119:00
Burma vs. North Korea [11-21177:30
11-2117 Pakistan vs Tajikistan:00]
South America World Qualifying Standings
Paraguay Chile 0-0
Brazil Colombia 2-1
Uruguay, Argentina 0-2
0-0 El Nerra, Ecuador
Peru 2-0 Bolivia
Both Brazil and Argentina suffered losses in this round, with Brazil suffering two consecutive defeats and dropping to fifth on points. Argentina suffered its first loss. With the advantage accumulated before, Argentina is at the top of the table with 12 points. Uruguay beat a strong Argentina on the road and moved up to second with 10 points. South America gained 6.5 seats in this tournament, which is almost equivalent to 7 seats. Peru has only one win so far and we need to work harder.
Sixth round of fixtures
Peru vs. Venezuela [11-22100:00
Argentina-Brazil vs. [11-22088:30]
"11-2207" Ecuador vs. Chile: 30]
11-2207 Uruguay vs. Bolivia: 30]
11-2207 Paraguay vs Colombia:00]
African Zone World Qualifying Standings
The first round of the African zone is not yet over. Now look at the groups. There are 9.5 seats in the African zone. This year, 54 teams are participating in the qualifiers and are divided into 9 groups for a double round robin tournament. The top group advances directly to the World Cup. The four best second-placed groups qualify for the play-offs, with four teams vying for a place in the continental play-offs.
