At 15:00 p.m. on June 27, Beijing time, the AFC held the group draw for the highly anticipated 2026 U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup qualifiers for the third phase of the 18-team Asian zone at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
China has been drawn into Group C and will be competing against strong teams such as Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia. The result of this grouping will undoubtedly add a lot of challenges to China's World Cup qualifying journey. Japan and Australia, as the best in Asian soccer, are not to be underestimated, while Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia also have their own characteristics and should not be ignored.
In addition to Group C, the teams have also been finalized for Groups A and B. Group A consists of Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea, while Group B consists of South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait. These groups show the diversity and competitiveness of Asian soccer.
According to the schedule, the 18-team tournament will be played between September 2024 and June 2025, with a home-and-away system. The top two teams from each group will directly qualify for the World Cup, which will undoubtedly be a tough test of strength and perseverance for the teams.
For the teams that finished third and fourth, their road to the World Cup is not over. These teams will move on to the fourth stage of the tournament and be re-divided into two groups of three teams each to play a single round robin. The top of the two groups will advance directly to the World Cup, while the second place finishers in the two groups will have to compete in a play-off for the final World Cup main round spot. This design of the tournament system not only increases the suspense and spectacle of the game, but also provides more teams with the opportunity to advance to the World Cup.
