The fourth opponent will be the winner of Afghanistan vs Mongolia in Round 1
The draw results are out! India is placed in Group A with familiar foes for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers. The men’s team will be facing Qatar, the host of the previous FIFA World Cup 2022; Kuwait, the SAFF Championship 2023 Runners-up, and the winners from Round 1 game between Afghanistan and Mongolia. The draw took place on 27th July 2023 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the AFC House.
India recently defeated Kuwait at SAFF Championship Final whereas earned a draw against 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar in the previous World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Asian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will be a qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in Canada,the United States, and Mexico for national teams who are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
A total of 8 direct slots in the final tournament are available for AFC teams, as well as 1 inter-confederation play-off slot.
The qualification process involves five rounds; the first two double as the qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Format
The qualification format was announced on 1 August 2022 and has been changed to fit the increased finals allocation of eight direct qualifiers and one play-off qualifier.
- First round: 20 teams will play home and away over two legs. The ten winners advance to the second round.
- Second round: 36 teams are divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams will play against each other on a home and away basis. The nine group winners and group runners-up advance to the third round and automatically qualify for the AFC Asian Cup.
- Third Round: 18 teams that advance from the second round are divided into three groups of six teams. The teams will play against each other on a home and away basis. The top two teams of each group qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup and the third and fourth-placed teams advance to the fourth round.
- Fourth Round: Six third and fourth-placed teams from the third round are divided into two groups of three teams each. The teams will play against each other once in a neutral venue. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup and the runners-up of each group advance to the fifth round.
- Fifth round: The group runners-up in the fourth round will compete home and away over two legs to determine the Asian representation at the inter-confederation play-off.
Schedule
- First Round will be played on 12 October 2023 First leg followed by the Second leg on 17 October 2023.
- Second Round will begin on 16 November 2023 to 11 June 2024 with 6 Matchday each team playing Home and Away.
- Third Round will begin on 5th September 2024 and to 10 June 2025 with 10 Matchdays.
- Fourth Round in October 2025 with 3 Matchdays.
- Fifth Round in November 2025 with Home and away game based.
it’s truly exhilarating to witness India’s competitive spirit in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, especially against such formidable teams. their recent victories against Kuwait and draw against Qatar are highly impressive, and as supporters we are confident and are eagerly anticipating their future performances. the recent changes in the qualification format are intriguing, and i sincerely hope they will give India a better opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.