The 23rd edition of FIFA World Cup will be jointly held in USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026, 48 teams from 6 confederations will participate in it, matches will be held in 16 cities of three countries.
The top 18 teams in the Asian qualifiers participate in the third round, which is divided into 3 groups of 6 and 6 teams, each team will play on a home-and-away basis, with 2 countries from each group directly qualifying for the World Cup 2026. The third and fourth placed teams will qualify for the fourth round.
The third stage of the Asian qualifiers has started this month, Uzbekistan defeated North Korea 1-0 in the preliminary round Group A matches held on September 5, Mishari Pov scored the decisive goal, Iran won 0-1 against Kyrgyzstan. achieved, the lone goal was scored by Treimi, the United Arab Emirates defeated Qatar 1–3, the second leg was held on 10 September, in which North Korea and Qatar drew 2–2, Uzbekistan drew Kyrgyzstan Iran defeated UAE 2-3 in an interesting match, Iran won 0-1 against UAE. The next round matches are scheduled for October.
Similarly, in Group B, the match between South Korea and Palestine ended in a goalless draw on September 5, Iraq won 0-1 against Oman, the fight between Kuwait and Jordan ended in a 1-1 draw, held on September 10. In the second round, Jordan dominated Palestine 1-3, South Korea beat Oman 1-3, Iraq and Kuwait ended goalless.
In Group A, the leader Uzbekistan has won the first position by winning both the matches, the team scored 4 goals against the opponents while 2 goals were scored against them, Iran was also victorious in the two opening matches, the team scored 2 goals while the rival teams were beaten by Iranians. The goalkeeper has not given a chance yet, United Arab Emirates is in third place with 1 win and 1 loss in 2 matches, North Korea has drawn 1 in 2 matches and lost 1, their position is 4th. Qatar is fifth with one draw and one loss, Kyrgyzstan have to settle for last and sixth position in the group due to failure in both matches.
In Group B, Jordan has won one match while holding the top position due to a draw. Also won one in 2 matches and drew one, thus they are also at the third position due to less goals scored. Kuwait at the fourth position has not tasted success in the two matches held so far and both the matches were decided to lose. They are unbeaten, with Palestine drawing one match while losing one to hold the fifth position, while Oman is at the bottom due to failure in both the matches held so far.
In Group C, Japan has taken the top position by adding 6 points, the team has scored 12 goals in total, while no goal has been scored against them, Saudi Arabia has won one match and has drawn one to get the second position. Bahrain has advanced to the third position, with a total of 3 points due to one draw and one defeat, Indonesia has secured the fourth position with 2 points after drawing both matches, Australia has a loss and a draw. With just one point in fifth place but likely to improve its position in the coming round, China has also failed in both matches so far and the leaders have to settle for sixth place.
Six countries from South America will qualify directly, while one will have the chance to enter the intercontinental play-offs, with CONMEBOL having the distinction of being the first federation to start the qualifiers process. On September 7, the match between Paraguay and Peru ended in a goalless draw, Venezuela was defeated by Colombia 0-1, Argentina beat Ecuador 0-1, and on September 8, Uruguay beat Chile 1-3. Brazil won 1-5 against Bolivia, in the second round held on September 12, 2023, Argentina outclassed Bolivia 0-3, Ecuador defeated Uruguay 1-2, Venezuela defeated Paraguay 0-1. Colombia and Chile played to a goalless draw, while Brazil beat Peru 0-1. In the eighth round held in September this year, Colombia defeated Argentina 1-2, Bolivia defeated Chile 1-2, Ecuador defeated Peru 0-1, and Venezuela and Uruguay played out a goalless draw. , Paraguay beat Brazil 0-1.
