The Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will hold the draw for the 2026 World Cup Asian playoff round today at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 2026 World Cup is set to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Following the conclusion of the third qualifying round last month, six of the eight direct World Cup spots allocated to Asia have been confirmed. The teams finishing third and fourth in each group — Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — will now compete in the upcoming playoff round, scheduled from October 8 to 14.

The playoff stage will see the six teams divided into two groups of three. Only the winner of each group will earn direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup, as announced on the official AFC website.

Matches in each group will be played in a single round-robin format at centralized venues. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been confirmed as hosts for these matches.

Teams will be seeded into three pots based on the FIFA rankings released on June 13, which were used for the draw. Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as hosts, will be kept apart in the group stage.

The seeding pots are:

Pot 1: Qatar, Saudi Arabia

Pot 2: Iraq, United Arab Emirates

Pot 3: Oman, Indonesia

After the group stage, the two teams finishing second in their respective groups will face off in a two-legged playoff on November 13 and 18. The winner will advance to the intercontinental playoff, offering one last opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.

A subsequent draw will determine the home and away teams for these matches after the playoff group draw.