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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
International football competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The second round of 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualification, which also served as the second round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, began on 16 November 2023 and was completed on 11 June 2024.[1][2]
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Format
A total of 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four to play home-and-away round-robin matches. They included the 26 teams which received byes to this round, and the 10 winners from the first round.[3]
The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the third round and qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The third and fourth place teams advanced to the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualification.[4]
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Seeding
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The draw for the second round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[5]
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2023 (shown in parentheses below). The identities of the first round winners were not known at the time of the draw.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying.
† Teams whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
‡ Team moved to Pot 3 after the other Pot 4 teams had been drawn into groups; subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3.
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Schedule
The match schedule was as follows.[1]
Group A
Al-Ettifaq Club Stadium, Khobar (Saudi Arabia)[note 2]
Attendance: 330
Referee: Ahmed Faisal Al-Ali (Jordan)
Damac Club Stadium, Khamis Mushait (Saudi Arabia)[note 2]
Attendance: 3,900
Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)
Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Sport City, Hofuf (Saudi Arabia)[note 2]
Attendance: 651
Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)
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Group B
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)[note 4]
Attendance: 4,285
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)[note 4]
Attendance: 6,130
Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam (Saudi Arabia)[note 4]
Attendance: 3,252
Referee: Pranjal Banerjee (India)
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Group C
Attendance: 39,969
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
Attendance: 46,979
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
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Group D
Attendance: 1,028
Referee: Yahya Al-Mulla (United Arab Emirates)
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Group E
Attendance: 32,551
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Group F
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Group G
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Group H
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha (Saudi Arabia)[note 8]
Attendance: 1,291
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar (Saudi Arabia)[note 8]
Attendance: 1,135
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam (Saudi Arabia)[note 9]
Attendance: 2,450
Referee: Payam Heydari (Iran)
Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam (Saudi Arabia)[note 8]
Attendance: 905
Referee: Ahmad Ibrahim (Jordan)
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Group I
Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)[note 10]
Attendance: 200
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
Attendance: 14,537
Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)
Attendance: 37,432
Referee: Shen Yinhao (China)
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha (Qatar)[note 11]
Attendance: 2,428
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
Attendance: 13,721
Referee: Razlan Joffri Ali (Malaysia)
Goalscorers
There were 331 goals scored in 107 matches, for an average of 3.09 goals per match.
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
Mitchell Duke
Craig Goodwin
Harry Souttar
Sayed Baqer
Hossein Kanaanizadegan
Ramin Rezaeian
Mohanad Ali
Ali Jasim
Keito Nakamura
Kōki Ogawa
Shabaib Al-Khaldi
Mohammad Daham
Kai Merk
Dion Cools
Omar Al-Malki
Shehab Qunbar
Patrick Reichelt
Akram Afif
Ahmed Al-Rawi
Mostafa Meshaal
Faris Ramli
Hwang Hee-chan
Moayad Ajan
Alaa Al Dali
Amadoni Kamolov
Shahrom Samiev
Rustam Soirov
Supachok Sarachat
Ruslan Mingazow
Harib Abdalla
Ali Saleh
Otabek Shukurov
Nguyễn Tiến Linh
Phạm Tuấn Hải
Mohammed Al-Dahi
1 goal
Rahmat Akbari
Sharif Mukhammad
Amredin Sharifi
Keanu Baccus
Brandon Borrello
Martin Boyle
Ajdin Hrustic
Nestory Irankunda
John Iredale
Kye Rowles
Adam Taggart
Mahdi Abduljabbar
Ismail Abdullatif
Kamil Al-Aswad
Mahdi Al-Humaidan
Ebrahim Al-Khattal
Ali Madan
Mohamed Marhoon
Abdulla Yusuf Helal
Shekh Morsalin
Fernandinho
Wang Shangyuan
Wei Shihao
Zhang Yuning
Wu Yen-shu
Yu Yao-hsing
Everton Camargo
Ma Hei Wai
Anthony Pinto
Wong Wai
Lallianzuala Chhangte
Sunil Chhetri
Manvir Singh
Thom Haye
Jay Idzes
Egy Maulana Vikri
Ragnar Oratmangoen
Shayne Pattynama
Saddil Ramdani
Rizky Ridho
Ramadhan Sananta
Mehdi Ghayedi
Mohammad Mohebi
Omid Noorafkan
Amir Al-Ammari
Ali Al-Hamadi
Hussein Ali
Youssef Amyn
Zidane Iqbal
Osama Rashid
Bashar Resan
Zaid Tahseen
Mao Hosoya
Daichi Kamada
Takefusa Kubo
Takumi Minamino
Yuki Soma
Yukinari Sugawara
Ao Tanaka
Mohammad Abu Zrayq
Noor Al-Rawabdeh
Saed Al-Rosan
Ibrahim Sadeh
Eid Al Rashidi
Athbi Saleh
Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov
Gulzhigit Alykulov
Ernist Batyrkanov
Khristiyan Brauzman
Valery Kichin
Kimi Merk
Eldiyar Zarypbekov
Kayrat Zhyrgalbek uulu
Nader Matar
Majed Osman
Adib Raop
Faisal Halim
Paulo Josué
Darren Lok
Safawi Rasid
Soe Moe Kyaw
Wai Lin Aung
Win Naing Tun
Sanjeeb Bista
Gillespye Jung Karki
Choe Ju-song
Han Kwang-song
Ri Hyong-jin
Ri Il-song
Mohammed Al-Ghafri
Muhsen Al-Ghassani
Issam Al-Sabhi
Mataz Saleh
Rahis Nabi
Michel Termanini
Kevin Ingreso
Yusuf Abdurisag
Tameem Al-Abdullah
Hassan Al-Haydos
Ahmed Alaaeldin
Yousef Aymen
Salem Al-Dawsari
Musab Al-Juwayr
Abdulrahman Ghareeb
Ali Lajami
Abdullah Radif
Shawal Anuar
Ikhsan Fandi
Jacob Mahler
Bae Jun-ho
Cho Gue-sung
Hwang Ui-jo
Joo Min-kyu
Jung Seung-hyun
Lee Jae-sung
Park Jin-seob
Omar Al Somah
Ibrahim Hesar
Vahdat Hanonov
Shervoni Mabatshoev
Ehson Panjshanbe
Manuchekhr Safarov
Parvizdzhon Umarbayev
Poramet Arjvirai
Jaroensak Wonggorn
Sarach Yooyen
Meýlis Durdyýew
Şanazar Tirkişow
Khalifa Al Hammadi
Hazem Mohammad
Abdullah Ramadan
Husniddin Aliqulov
Rustam Ashurmatov
Khojimat Erkinov
Sherzod Nasrullaev
Igor Sergeev
Nguyễn Đình Bắc
Nguyễn Văn Toàn
Omar Al-Dahi
Nasser Al-Gahwashi
1 own goal
Pan Wen-chieh (against Oman)
Jordi Amat (against Iraq)
Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov (against Malaysia)
Khristiyan Brauzman (against Malaysia)
Alimardon Shukurov (against Oman)
Bassel Jradi (against Australia)
Thaer Krouma (against Japan)
Abdulla Idrees (against Yemen)
Harwan Al-Zubaidi (against Bahrain)
Discipline
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A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions:[19]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious infractions)
- Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions are carried forward to further qualification rounds, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the second round:
Notes
- Saudi Arabia had already qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup as tournament hosts and competed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- Afghanistan played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Afghan conflict.
- Syria played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.
- Indonesia and Philippines swapped their fixtures on 31 October 2023, due to Indonesia hosting the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[11]
- Yemen played their home matches at a neutral venue due to the ongoing Yemeni civil war.
- Nepal played their final two home matches at a neutral venue due to the Dasharath Rangasala failing to meet FIFA standard.[13]
References
External links
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