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.
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.
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.
Seeding The draw for the second round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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. Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4 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.
Schedule The match schedule was as follows.
MatchdayDate(s)Matchday 116 November 2023Matchday 221 November 2023Matchday 321 March 2024Matchday 426 March 2024Matchday 56 June 2024Matchday 611 June 2024
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Group I
Goalscorers
Discipline A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions: 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:
Team Player Infraction(s) Suspended for match(es) Haroon Amiri vs India (26 March 2024) vs Qatar (6 June 2024) vs Kuwait (11 June 2024) Farzad Ataei vs Qatar (16 November 2023) vs Kuwait (21 November 2023) Mahboob Hanifi vs Qatar (16 November 2023) vs India (26 March 2024) vs Qatar (6 June 2024) Omid Popalzay vs Mongolia (17 October 2023) vs Qatar (6 June 2024) vs Kuwait (11 June 2024) Keanu Baccus vs Bangladesh (16 November 2023) vs Lebanon (21 March 2024) vs Lebanon (26 March 2024) Mohamed Al-Hardan vs Yemen (16 November 2023) vs United Arab Emirates (21 November 2023) vs Nepal (21 March 2024) Waleed Al Hayam vs United Arab Emirates (21 November 2023) vs Nepal (21 March 2024) vs Nepal (26 March 2024) Ali Madan vs United Arab Emirates (21 November 2023) vs Nepal (21 March 2024) vs Nepal (26 March 2024) Bishwanath Ghosh vs Maldives (12 October 2023) vs Palestine (26 March 2024) vs Australia (6 June 2024) Rakib Hossain vs Maldives (17 October 2023) vs Australia (16 November 2023) vs Lebanon (21 November 2023) Mojibur Rahman Jony vs Palestine (21 March 2024) vs Palestine (26 March 2024) vs Australia (6 June 2024) Mohamed Sohel Rana vs Maldives (12 October 2023) vs Maldives (17 October 2023) vs Australia (16 November 2023) Sohel Rana vs Maldives (17 October 2023) vs Lebanon (21 November 2023) vs Palestine (21 March 2024) Saad Uddin vs Maldives (12 October 2023) vs Australia (16 November 2023) vs Lebanon (21 November 2023) Li Yuanyi vs Singapore (26 March 2024) vs Thailand (6 June 2024) Wu Lei vs South Korea (21 November 2023) vs Singapore (26 March 2024) vs Thailand (6 June 2024) Wang Chien-ming vs Timor-Leste (12 October 2023) vs Malaysia (21 November 2023) vs Kyrgyzstan (21 March 2024) Wen Chih-hao vs Malaysia (21 November 2023) vs Oman (6 June 2024) vs Malaysia (11 June 2024) Vikram Partap Singh vs Afghanistan (21 March 2024) vs Afghanistan (26 March 2024) vs Kuwait (6 June 2024) Jordi Amat vs Iraq (6 June 2024) vs Philippines (11 June 2024) Asnawi Mangkualam vs Iraq (16 November 2023) vs Philippines (21 November 2023) vs Vietnam (21 March 2024) Witan Sulaeman vs Vietnam (21 March 2024) vs Vietnam (26 March 2024) vs Iraq (6 June 2024) Sandy Walsh vs Brunei (17 October 2023) vs Vietnam (21 March 2024) vs Vietnam (26 March 2024) Mohammad Kanaani vs Uzbekistan (21 November 2023) vs Turkmenistan (26 March 2024) vs Hong Kong (6 June 2024) Mohammad Abu Hashish vs Tajikistan (16 November 2023) vs Saudi Arabia (21 November 2023) vs Pakistan (21 March 2024) Nizar Al-Rashdan vs Saudi Arabia (21 November 2023) vs Pakistan (21 March 2024) vs Pakistan (26 March 2024) Abdallah Nasib vs Tajikistan (16 November 2023) vs Saudi Arabia (21 November 2023) vs Pakistan (21 March 2024) Faisal Zayid vs India (16 November 2023) vs Afghanistan (21 November 2023) Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov vs Malaysia (16 November 2023) vs Oman (21 November 2023) vs Chinese Taipei (21 March 2024) Said Datsiev vs Chinese Taipei (21 March 2024) vs Chinese Taipei (26 March 2024) Jihad Ayoub vs Palestine (16 November 2023) vs Bangladesh (21 November 2023) vs Australia (21 March 2024) Khalil Khamis vs Australia (26 March 2024) vs Palestine (6 June 2024) vs Bangladesh (11 June 2024) Ali Tneich vs Palestine (16 November 2023) vs Australia (26 March 2024) vs Palestine (6 June 2024) Hein Phyo Win vs Syria (26 March 2024) vs Japan (6 June 2024) Hein Zeyar Lin vs Macau (17 October 2023) vs North Korea (21 November 2023) vs Syria (21 March 2024) Wai Lin Aung vs Japan (16 November 2023) vs Syria (21 March 2024) vs Syria (26 March 2024) Manish Dangi vs Laos (17 October 2023) vs Bahrain (21 March 2024) vs Bahrain (26 March 2024) Dinesh Henjan vs Laos (17 October 2023) vs Bahrain (26 March 2024) vs United Arab Emirates (6 June 2024) Issam Al-Sabhi vs Kyrgyzstan (21 November 2023) vs Malaysia (21 March 2024) vs Malaysia (26 March 2024) Shayak Dost vs Cambodia (17 November 2023) vs Saudi Arabia (16 November 2023) vs Tajikistan (21 November 2023) Alamgir Ghazi vs Tajikistan (21 November 2023) vs Jordan (26 March 2024) vs Saudi Arabia (6 June 2024) Abdullah Iqbal vs Cambodia (17 October 2023) vs Jordan (21 March 2024) vs Jordan (26 March 2024) Muhammad Umar Hayat vs Cambodia (12 October 2023) vs Saudi Arabia (16 November 2023) vs Tajikistan (21 November 2023) Oday Kharoub vs Bangladesh (26 March 2024) vs Lebanon (6 June 2024) vs Australia (11 June 2024) Ameed Mahajna vs Bangladesh (21 March 2024) vs Bangladesh (26 March 2024) vs Lebanon (6 June 2024) Camilo Saldaña vs Australia (21 November 2023) vs Bangladesh (26 March 2024) vs Lebanon (6 June 2024) Santiago Rublico vs Vietnam (16 November 2023) vs Indonesia (21 November 2023) vs Iraq (21 March 2024) Yusuf Abdurisag vs Kuwait (26 March 2024) vs Afghanistan (6 June 2024) vs India (11 June 2024) Ahmed Fathy vs Kuwait (26 March 2024) vs Afghanistan (6 June 2024) vs India (11 June 2024) Ali Al-Bulaihi vs Jordan (21 November 2023) vs Tajikistan (21 March 2024) vs Tajikistan (26 March 2024) Jacob Mahler vs China (21 March 2024) vs China (26 March 2024) vs South Korea (6 June 2024) Shah Shahiran vs Guam (17 October 2023) vs South Korea (16 November 2023) vs Thailand (21 November 2023) Lionel Tan vs Guam (17 October 2023) vs China (21 March 2024) vs China (26 March 2024) Abdy Bäşimow vs Uzbekistan (16 November 2023) vs Hong Kong (21 November 2023) vs Iran (21 March 2024) Sultan Adil vs Bahrain (21 November 2023) vs Yemen (26 March 2024) vs Nepal (6 June 2024) Khalifa Al Hammadi vs Yemen (21 March 2024) vs Yemen (26 March 2024) vs Nepal (6 June 2024) Khalid Al-Hashemi vs Yemen (21 March 2024) vs Yemen (26 March 2024) vs Nepal (6 June 2024) Farrukh Sayfiev vs Iran (21 November 2023) vs Hong Kong (26 March 2024) vs Turkmenistan (6 June 2024) Bùi Hoàng Việt Anh vs Philippines (16 November 2021) vs Indonesia (26 March 2024) vs Philippines (6 June 2024) Nguyễn Văn Toàn vs Indonesia (21 March 2024) vs Philippines (6 June 2024) vs Iraq (11 June 2024) Nasser Al-Gahwashi vs United Arab Emirates (21 March 2024) vs United Arab Emirates (26 March 2024) vs Bahrain (6 June 2024) Harwan Al-Zubaidi vs Bahrain (16 November 2023) vs United Arab Emirates (21 March 2024) vs United Arab Emirates (26 March 2024)
Notes
References
External links
FIFA.com FIFA World Cup – the-AFC.com