Format
The six teams have been divided into two groups of three, with matches to be played in a single round-robin format in two centralised venues.

 

Group A (Doha)
Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman

Group B (Jeddah)
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia

Qualification slots
The two groups winners will qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Fixtures
Group A (Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, UTC+3)
Oman v Qatar - Oct 8, 18:00
UAE v Oman - Oct 11, 20:15
Qatar v UAE - Oct 14, 20:00

Group B (King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, Jeddah, UTC+3)
Indonesia v Saudi Arabia - Oct 8, 20:15
Iraq v Indonesia - Oct 11, 22:30
Saudi Arabia v Iraq - Oct 14, 21:45

Final chance
A final qualifying chance is available to the runners-up of each group, who will square off in a two-legged showdown across November 13 and 18. This Knockout Stage will determine the AFC’s representative at the FIFA Playoff Tournament, where they will have to fend off opponents from other confederations to claim one of two berths.

 

How they got there
UAE and Qatar finished third and fourth respectively in Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26. Iraq and Oman finished behind Korea Republic and Jordan in Group B while Saudi Arabia and Indonesia were third and fourth in Group C.

Previous FIFA World Cup appearances
Qatar - One (2022)
UAE - One (1990)
Oman - Nil
Saudi Arabia - Six (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)
Iraq - One (1986)
Indonesia - One (1938, then known as Dutch East Indies)

Already through
Islamic Republic of Iran and Uzbekistan qualified for the FIFA World Cup after finishing top of Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26. Korea Republic and Jordan were the sides to advance from Group B while Japan and Australia finished first and second respectively in Group C.