Summary of the 24 teams that will compete in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round, third round, which will begin competing next year, 2025-2026.
The 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round, third round, brings together the 24 teams that were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, Asia Zone, second round (3rd-4th place), a total of 9 groups, and another 6 teams in the play-off round, for a total of 24. Teams compete, divided into 6 groups of 4 teams each, competing in a home-away format, with the group champion team from 6 groups being selected to advance to the final round. in Saudi Arabia, joining with 18 other teams qualifying for the 2026 World Cup Asia Zone, third round, making a total of 24 final teams.
The list of 24 teams that will participate in the 2027 Asian Cup third qualifying round is as follows:
India, Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Philippines, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Nepal, Lebanon, Bangladesh, winning team from Play-off round (Sri Lanka or Cambodia), winner of the play-off round (Timor Leste or Mongolia), and winner of the play-off round (Brunei or Macau).
The ranking of the seeding teams for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round, third round, is based on the world ranking (FIFA Ranking), with a group draw in December 2024.
Summary of the 18 teams and the seeding pots for the 2026 World Cup Asia.
"War Elephants" moved up to 99th in the FIFA rankings in June.
Summary of the results of the 2026 World Cup Asia, second round, 11 June 2024.
The schedule for the Asian Cup 2027 qualifying round, third round, is as follows:
Match 1 will be played on March 25, 2025.
Match 2 will be on June 10, 2025.
Match 3 will be on September 9, 2025.
Match 4 will be played on October 14, 2025.
Match 5 will be played on 18 November 2025.
Match 6 will be played on March 31, 2026.