Hosts Qatar, semi-finalists in the 2021 edition, were drawn alongside 2021 runners-up Tunisia and the winners of the Syria-South Sudan and Palestine-Libya qualifiers.

Saudi Arabia, who did not advance from the group stage four years ago, will start their campaign in Group B with Morocco and the winners of the Oman-Somalia and Yemen-Comoros their challengers.

Jordan, the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ runners-up and the United Arab Emirates earned direct entry to the Finals, with Egypt and the winners of the Kuwait-Mauritania playoff their opponents in Group C.

Iraq will have defending champions Algeria, along with the winners of the Bahrain-Djibouti and Lebanon-Sudan playoffs for company in Group D.

The qualification stage is based on the FIFA World Ranking issued in April with the highest ranked AFC nations playing the lowest-ranked from CAF and vice-versa. The matches will be played as single leg ties in Qatar on November 25 and 26.

Oman (AFC #1) v Somalia (CAF #7)

Bahrain (AFC #2) v Djibouti (CAF #6)

Syria (AFC #3) v South Sudan (CAF #5)

Palestine (AFC #4) v Libya (CAF #4)

Lebanon (AFC #5) v Sudan (CAF #3)

Kuwait (AFC #6) v Mauritania (CAF #2)

Yemen (AFC #7) v Comoros (CAF #1)

Group A: Qatar, Tunisia, Syria/South Sudan, Palestine/Libya

Group B: Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman/Somalia, Yemen/Comoros

Group C: Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait/Mauritania

Group D: Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain/Djibouti, Lebanon/Sudan