2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round
Match between Brunei and Indonesia
Tournament details
Dates12–17 October 2023
Teams20 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played20
Goals scored51 (2.55 per match)
Attendance138,247 (6,912 per match)
Top scorer(s)Indonesia Dimas Drajad
Indonesia Ramadhan Sananta
(3 goals each)

The AFC first round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, which also served as the first round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, was played from 12 to 17 October 2023.[1]

Format

A total of twenty teams were drawn into ten home-and-away ties, the winners of which advanced to the second round.[2] As the second round draw occurred on the same date as the first round draw,[3] each winner already knew their second round schedule.

Schedule

The schedule was as follows:[1]

Matchday Date(s)
Matchday 1 12 October 2023
Matchday 2 17 October 2023

Draw

The draw for the first round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4]

These 20 teams were divided into ten pairings, with each pair playing home and away across 12 and 17 October 2023. The numbers in parentheses indicate the FIFA Men's World Ranking of July 2023.

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.

Pot 1 Pot 2

Summary

The ten winners advanced to the second round of qualifying.

2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification first round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Afghanistan  2–0  Mongolia 1–0 1–0
Maldives  2–3  Bangladesh 1–1 1–2
Singapore  3–1  Guam 2–1 1–0
Yemen  4–1  Sri Lanka 3–0 1–1
Myanmar  5–1  Macau 5–1 0–0
Cambodia  0–1  Pakistan 0–0 0–1
Chinese Taipei  7–0  Timor-Leste 4–0 3–0
Indonesia  12–0  Brunei 6–0 6–0
Hong Kong  4–2  Bhutan 4–0 0–2
Nepal    2–1  Laos 1–1 1–0

Matches

Afghanistan 1–0 Mongolia
  • Sharza 60'
 Report
Attendance: 1,456
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
Mongolia 0–1 Afghanistan
Report
Attendance: 2,185
Referee: Hassan Akrami (Iran)

Afghanistan won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Maldives 1–1 Bangladesh
 Report
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Vahid Kazemi (Iran)
Bangladesh 2–1 Maldives
 Report
Attendance: 6,729
Referee: Ammar Mahfoodh (Bahrain)

Bangladesh won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Singapore 2–1 Guam
 Report
Attendance: 10,355
Referee: Mohammad Ghabayen (Jordan)
Guam 0–1 Singapore
Report
Attendance: 1,012
Referee: Chen Hsin-chuan (Chinese Taipei)

Singapore won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Yemen 3–0 Sri Lanka
 Report
Attendance: 1,526
Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)
Sri Lanka 1–1 Yemen
  • Rathnayake 89'
 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Clifford Daypuyat (Philippines)

Yemen won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Myanmar 5–1 Macau
 Report
Attendance: 6,213
Macau 0–0 Myanmar
Report
Attendance: 2,187
Referee: Salim Al-Majarafi (Oman)

Myanmar won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Cambodia 0–0 Pakistan
Report
Attendance: 11,718
Referee: Baraa Aisha (Palestine)
Pakistan 1–0 Cambodia
 Report
Attendance: 9,562
Referee: Feras Taweel (Syria)

Pakistan won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Chinese Taipei 4–0 Timor-Leste
 Report
Attendance: 1,894
Referee: Ismaeel Habib Ali (Bahrain)
Timor-Leste 0–3 Chinese Taipei
Report
Attendance: 745
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar (India)

Chinese Taipei won 7–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Indonesia 6–0 Brunei
 Report
Attendance: 23,318
Referee: Bijan Heydari (Iran)
Brunei 0–6 Indonesia
Report
Attendance: 17,281
Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)

Indonesia won 12–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Hong Kong 4–0 Bhutan
 Report
Attendance: 10,259
Bhutan 2–0 Hong Kong
 Report
Attendance: 5,300

Hong Kong won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Nepal   1–1 Laos
 Report
Attendance: 11,235
Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)
Laos 0–1   Nepal
Report
Attendance: 9,772
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)

Nepal won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Ranking of best losing teams

The first round doubled as preliminary qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The top-ranked losing team progressed to the third round of Asian Cup qualifying, while the remainder joined the Northern Mariana Islands in the play-off round.[7][8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bhutan 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 3 Asian Cup qualifying third round
2  Maldives 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 1 Asian Cup qualifying play-off round
3  Laos 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
4  Cambodia 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 1
5  Sri Lanka 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
6  Macau 2 0 1 1 1 5 −4 1
7  Guam 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
8  Mongolia 2 0 0 2 0 2 −2 0
9  Timor-Leste 2 0 0 2 0 7 −7 0
10  Brunei 2 0 0 2 0 12 −12 0
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Lower disciplinary points total; 5) Drawing of lots.[9]

Goalscorers

There were 51 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 2.55 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

  • Bhutan Tenzin Norbu (against Hong Kong)

Notes

  1. ↑ Sri Lanka was suspended for government interference in football, but was provisionally included in the draw, pending a resolution.[5] After the issue was settled, the ban was lifted, allowing the team to participate.[6]
  2. ↑ Afghanistan played their home game at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Afghan conflict.
  3. ↑ Yemen played their home game at a neutral venue due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen.
  4. ↑ Timor-Leste played their home game in Kaohsiung, due to the National Stadium in Dili failing to meet FIFA standards.

References

  1. 1 2 "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2023 - Jul 2024)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  2. ↑ "Stage set for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Jun 2023 - May 2024)". AFC. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Seedings revealed for FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers draw". AFC. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Sri Lanka Football ban : New update from FIFA". Newswire. 26 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Bureau of the FIFA Council lifts suspension on Football Federation of Sri Lanka". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Asia's pathway to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 confirmed". AFC. 1 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation.
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