The third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia has ended: results

On June 10, the third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in Asia concluded. After several months of intense and dramatic competition, a total of six teams from three groups qualified directly for the World Cup.

Group A: Uzbekistan is a record-breaker and made history!

The Uzbekistan national team scored a major 3-0 victory over Qatar in the final round match, accumulating 21 points for the first time in the history of the qualifiers. This result not only consolidated the top positions in the group, but also earned serious recognition throughout Asia.

In other matches, Kyrgyzstan drew 1-1 with the UAE. Iran, on the other hand, defeated North Korea 3-0 to become the group leader.

Group B: Dramatic dashed hopes and a late penalty

South Korea and Jordan had already qualified for the World Cup. However, the fight for 3rd and 4th places was fierce until the last minutes.

Iraq defeated Jordan and achieved a major victory. In the match between Palestine and Oman, the fate of advancing to the next round was decided in the last seconds: although Palestine opened the scoring, a penalty awarded in the 90th + 5th minute destroyed their dream.

Group C: Australia's attack crushes Saudi dream

Japan had already qualified for the World Cup. A win in the head-to-head match between Australia and Saudi Arabia would have sealed their place. Although the Saudis opened the scoring, Australia came back to win 1-2 and join Japan in the finals.

6 teams that have qualified directly for the finals:
- Japan
- Iran
- Uzbekistan
- Jordan
- South Korea
- Australia

6 teams that have qualified for the play-offs:
- UAE
- Qatar
- Iraq
- Oman
- Saudi Arabia
- Indonesia

These teams will be centrally divided into two groups, and the group winners will have the opportunity to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals. The second-place teams will compete with each other, and the winner will fight for the final place in the intercontinental play-offs.

Thus, 2 or 3 more teams from Asia may participate in the World Cup.

Ahead - new opportunities, new historical faces and new dreams!