On June 27, the draw ceremony for the top 18 of the Asian zone of the World Preliminary Championships was held in Kuala Lumpur. As the fifth pot team, the national football team was divided into Group C, and the opponents in the same group included strong teams such as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia, and it was very difficult to stand out from the round of 18.
The 18 participating teams are divided according to the latest FIFA rankings, with three teams in each bracket. According to the latest rankings, the 18 teams in Asia are divided as follows:
Pot 1: Japan (17), Iran (20), South Korea (22)
Pot 2: Australia (23), Qatar (35), Iraq (55)
Pot 3: Saudi Arabia (56), Uzbekistan (62), Jordan (68)
Pot 4: UAE (69), Oman (76), Bahrain (81)
Tier 5: China (88), Palestine (95), Kyrgyzstan (101)
Pot 6: North Korea (110), Indonesia (134), Kuwait (137)
After the group draw, the 18 teams were divided into 3 groups, and the specific grouping is as follows:
Group A: Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea
Group B: Republic of Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait
Group C: Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia
Once the groups have been decided, the teams will play 10 rounds of group stage matches between September 2024 and June 2025 to determine each team's ranking.
According to the rules, the top 2 teams in each group, a total of 6 teams, will directly qualify for the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup finals. The 6 teams that finish 3rd and 4th in the group will be redivided into 2 groups of 3 teams for the group stage, with the top two groups directly qualifying for the World Cup, and the second place in the group going to the play-offs, and the winner will play in the continental play-offs.