Bubble Watch Hub | CAF | CONCACAF | CONMEBOL | OFC | UEFA
Japan last week became the first non-host nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Iran joined the Samurai Blue on Tuesday. The rest of Asia will have to wait until the final window of third-round qualifiers in June to book tickets — either to the World Cup or a last-chance fourth round.
Entering that final window, 15 countries remain alive for six more guaranteed places at next summer's tournament. Four of those places will be filled by June. The other two will be awarded in the fall, via the fourth round (explained below).
World Cup berths: 8 (plus 1 intercontinental playoff berth)
World Cup qualifying format: It's complicated. A first round whittled the field down from 46 to 36. A second round, featuring groups of four, cut it in half to 18. In the ongoing third round, those 18 teams were seeded and drawn into three groups of six. The top two in each group qualify for the World Cup. The next two — so six teams in total — go to a fourth round, or second-chance round, where they're split into two groups of three. The winner of each fourth-round group also qualifies. The runners-up go to a playoff for a place in the intercontinental playoff. So, yeah … complicated.
Standings | Schedule and results
Asia 2026 World Cup qualifying bubble
Qualified: Japan, IranConfident: Uzbekistan, South Korea, JordanBubble: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, OmanLong shots: Bahrain, China, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, KuwaitEliminated: North Korea, Mongolia, Maldives, Guam, Sri Lanka, Macau, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Brunei, Bhutan, Laos, India, Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Philippines, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Nepal, Lebanon, Bangladesh
Winners, losers of the March qualifiers in Asia
Winner: Australia — Wins over Indonesia and China put the Aussies on solid ground in second place. Their June schedule is tough — vs. Japan, at third-place Saudi Arabia — but their three-point advantage over the Saudis entering the home stretch could prove decisive.
Losers: China and Bahrain — Both marched into March with a realistic shot at direct qualification. Both limped out of the window with two losses and waning hopes of even reaching the fourth round.
Winner: Jordan — Four points, including one at South Korea, have Jordan in pole position for a direct qualification spot in Group B. A win over Iraq would be sufficient — no matter how their first game of the June window, at Oman, plays out.
Loser: Iraq — Held a 1-0 lead for most of Tuesday's game against Palestine, then threw it away. Palestine's 88th-minute equalizer and 97th-minute winner knocked Iraq out of the top two, for now, behind Jordan.
