Nine of the contenders will be dreaming of a historic maiden AFC Asian Cup™ qualification – Afghanistan, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste – while eight others are eyeing an immediate return, having appeared at the 2023 edition in Qatar.

Group A saw top seeds Tajikistan drawn with Philippines, Maldives and Timor-Leste while Lebanon will face Yemen, Bhutan and Brunei Darussalam in Group B.

Group C will see India, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Bangladesh vying for the sole ticket to the Finals while Thailand, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka are the Group D cast.

Syria's bid to advance to the Finals from Group E will be challenged by Afghanistan, Myanmar and Pakistan while the four sides drawn in Group F were Vietnam, Malaysia, Nepal and Laos.

Brunei Darussalam, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste advanced to the final round of the qualifiers after playoff victories against Macau, Cambodia and Mongolia respectively.

Bhutan, Maldives and Laos qualified as the three best-ranked losing teams from Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 while the remaining 18 sides finished third and fourth in the second round of qualifying.

The Qualifiers will kick off on March 25, 2025 in a home and away format with the final matchday scheduled for March 31, 2026.