Where to watch AFC World Cup Qualifiers for Free?

The Asian segment of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will serve as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for national teams belonging to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). AFC teams have been allotted eight direct qualifying positions and one inter-confederation play-off position. The qualification process includes five stages; the initial two also act as qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

All FIFA-affiliated nations entered the combined qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup; Northern Mariana Islands, which is not a FIFA member, would have entered through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off stage. Nevertheless, the AFC left Northern Mariana Islands out of the draw for the play-off stage.

AFC World Cup qualifiers

The qualification structure was revealed on 1 August 2022, having been revised to accommodate the increased finals allocation of eight direct qualifiers and one play-off qualifier:

First round: 20 teams (ranked 27–46) contested home-and-away over two legs. The ten victors moved on to the second round. The best loser secured a place in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round, while the other teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off stage.

Second round: 36 teams (ranked 1–26 and ten first-round victors) were split into nine groups of four teams. The teams competed against one another on a home-and-away basis. The nine group champions and group runners-up progressed to the third round and automatically qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The remaining teams qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round.

Third round: 18 teams that advanced from the second round were sorted into three groups of six teams. The teams will face off against one another on a home-and-away basis. The top two teams from each group qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup, while the teams finishing third and fourth move on to the fourth round.

Fourth round: Six third- and fourth-placed teams from the third round are organized into two groups of three teams each. The teams will play against each other once at a centralized location. The winners from each group qualify for the World Cup, and the runners-up from each group proceed to the fifth round.

Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round will clash home-and-away over two legs to decide the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-offs.

AFC World Cup draw

The draw for the initial and secondary rounds of joint qualification occurred in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 July 2023. The highest 26 ranked teams received byes to the second round, while the 20 teams entering the first round were divided into two pots of 10 teams each and drawn alternately from pot 1 then pot 2 to create a pairing. The team from pot 1 played host for the first leg, and the team from pot 2 hosted the second leg.

Pots 1, 2, and 3 for the second round draw included the teams ranked 1–9, 10–18, and 19–26, respectively, while pot 4 held placeholders for the ten first round matchups. Nine teams were selected from pot 4 first and assigned to position 4 of each group. The tenth team from pot 4 was moved to Pot 3, and then drawn at random from Pot 3. Teams were subsequently drawn into each group in order from pots 3, 2, and 1.

Intercontinental playoffs

The fifth-round victor will be joined by one team each from CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked based on the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams competing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will face off against the two highest-ranked teams in another round of single-elimination matches, with the victors of these matches securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Also Read: Where To Watch FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for Free?

Key Fixtures this international break in AFC World Cup qualifiers

Some of the important third round fixtures in the AFC World Cup qualifiers.

• Iran vs UAE
• Saudi Arabia vs China
• Japan vs Saudi Arabia
• South Korea v Jordan
• China vs Australia

Favourites in AFC World Cup qualifiers

Australia, Iran, South Korea and Japan are the historical favourites but do not count out the likes of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Where to watch AFC World Cup qualifiers in several countries?

All these games will be broadcast on free-to-air television channels in several countries. Here we take a look at the free streaming and telecast details for the upcoming AFC World Cup qualifiers in different countries:

Country	Free Viewing Platform
United Kingdom	OneFootball
United States	OneFootball
Indonesia	FIFA+
Kazakhstan	FIFA+
Bahrain	FIFA+
Kuwait	FIFA+
Syria	FIFA+
Palestine	FIFA+
India	FanCode
Australia	FIFA+
Bangladesh	FIFA+
China	FIFA+
Japan	FIFA+
Mexico	FIFA+
Germany	FIFA+
New Zealand	FIFA+
Spain	FIFA+
Iraq	FIFA+
Korea DPK	FIFA+
Indonesia	FIFA+
South Korea	FIFA+
Uzbekistan	FIFA+
UAE	FIFA+
Qatar	FIFA+
Singapore	FIFA+