2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
The second round of 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualification, which also served as the second round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, began on 16 November 2023 and was completed on 11 June 2024.
Format
A total of 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four to play home-and-away round-robin matches. They included the 26 teams which received byes to this round, and the 10 winners from the first round.The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the third round and qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The third and fourth place teams advanced to the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualification.
Seeding
The draw for the second round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2023. The identities of the first round winners were not known at the time of the draw.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
Teams whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.
Team moved to Pot 3 after the other Pot 4 teams had been drawn into groups; subsequently drawn at random from Pot 3.
Schedule
The match schedule was as follows.| Matchday | Date |
| Matchday 1 | 16 November 2023 |
| Matchday 2 | 21 November 2023 |
| Matchday 3 | 21 March 2024 |
| Matchday 4 | 26 March 2024 |
| Matchday 5 | 6 June 2024 |
| Matchday 6 | 11 June 2024 |
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Group E
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Group F
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Group G
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Group H
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Group I
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Discipline
A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions:- Receiving a red card
- Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches
| Team | Player | Infraction | Suspended for match |
| Haroon Amiri | vs India vs Qatar | vs Kuwait | |
| Farzad Ataei | vs Qatar | vs Kuwait | |
| Mahboob Hanifi | vs Qatar vs India | vs Qatar | |
| Omid Popalzay | vs Mongolia vs Qatar | vs Kuwait | |
| Keanu Baccus | vs Bangladesh vs Lebanon | vs Lebanon | |
| Mohamed Al-Hardan | vs Yemen vs United Arab Emirates | vs Nepal | |
| Waleed Al Hayam | vs United Arab Emirates vs Nepal | vs Nepal | |
| Ali Madan | vs United Arab Emirates vs Nepal | vs Nepal | |
| Bishwanath Ghosh | vs Maldives vs Palestine | vs Australia | |
| Rakib Hossain | vs Maldives vs Australia | vs Lebanon | |
| Mojibur Rahman Jony | vs Palestine vs Palestine | vs Australia | |
| Mohamed Sohel Rana | vs Maldives vs Maldives | vs Australia | |
| Sohel Rana | vs Maldives vs Lebanon | vs Palestine | |
| Saad Uddin | vs Maldives vs Australia | vs Lebanon | |
| Li Yuanyi | vs Singapore | vs Thailand | |
| Wu Lei | vs South Korea vs Singapore | vs Thailand | |
| Wang Chien-ming | vs Timor-Leste vs Malaysia | vs Kyrgyzstan | |
| Wen Chih-hao | vs Malaysia vs Oman | vs Malaysia | |
| Vikram Partap Singh | vs Afghanistan vs Afghanistan | vs Kuwait | |
| Jordi Amat | vs Iraq | vs Philippines | |
| Asnawi Magkualam | vs Iraq vs Philippines | vs Vietnam | |
| Witan Sulaeman | vs Vietnam vs Vietnam | vs Iraq | |
| Sandy Walsh | vs Brunei vs Vietnam | vs Vietnam | |
| Mohammad Kanaani | vs Uzbekistan vs Turkmenistan | vs Hong Kong | |
| Mohammad Abu Hashish | vs Tajikistan vs Saudi Arabia | vs Pakistan | |
| Nizar Al-Rashdan | vs Saudi Arabia vs Pakistan | vs Pakistan | |
| Abdallah Nasib | vs Tajikistan vs Saudi Arabia | vs Pakistan | |
| Faisal Zayid | vs India | vs Afghanistan | |
| Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov | vs Malaysia vs Oman | vs Chinese Taipei | |
| Said Datsiev | vs Chinese Taipei | vs Chinese Taipei | |
| Jihad Ayoub | vs Palestine vs Bangladesh | vs Australia | |
| Khalil Khamis | vs Australia vs Palestine | vs Bangladesh | |
| Ali Tneich | vs Palestine vs Australia | vs Palestine | |
| Hein Phyo Win | vs Syria | vs Japan | |
| Hein Zeyar Lin | vs Macau vs North Korea | vs Syria | |
| Wai Lin Aung | vs Japan vs Syria | vs Syria | |
| Manish Dangi | vs Laos vs Bahrain | vs Bahrain | |
| Dinesh Henjan | vs Laos vs Bahrain | vs United Arab Emirates | |
| Issam Al-Sabhi | vs Kyrgyzstan vs Malaysia | vs Malaysia | |
| Shayak Dost | vs Cambodia vs Saudi Arabia | vs Tajikistan | |
| Alamgir Ghazi | vs Tajikistan vs Jordan | vs Saudi Arabia | |
| Abdullah Iqbal | vs Cambodia vs Jordan | vs Jordan | |
| Muhammad Umar Hayat | vs Cambodia vs Saudi Arabia | vs Tajikistan | |
| Oday Kharoub | vs Bangladesh vs Lebanon | vs Australia | |
| Ameed Mahajna | vs Bangladesh vs Bangladesh | vs Lebanon | |
| Camilo Saldaña | vs Australia vs Bangladesh | vs Lebanon | |
| Santiago Rublico | vs Vietnam vs Indonesia | vs Iraq | |
| Yusuf Abdurisag | vs Kuwait vs Afghanistan | vs India | |
| Ahmed Fathy | vs Kuwait vs Afghanistan | vs India | |
| Ali Al-Bulaihi | vs Jordan vs Tajikistan | vs Tajikistan | |
| Jacob Mahler | vs China vs China | vs South Korea | |
| Shah Shahiran | vs Guam vs South Korea | vs Thailand | |
| Lionel Tan | vs Guam vs China | vs China | |
| Abdy Bäşimow | vs Uzbekistan vs Hong Kong | vs Iran | |
| Sultan Adil | vs Bahrain vs Yemen | vs Nepal | |
| Khalifa Al Hammadi | vs Yemen vs Yemen | vs Nepal | |
| Khalid Al-Hashemi | vs Yemen vs Yemen | vs Nepal | |
| Farrukh Sayfiev | vs Iran vs Hong Kong | vs Turkmenistan | |
| Bùi Hoàng Việt Anh | vs Philippines vs Indonesia | vs Philippines | |
| Nguyễn Văn Toàn | vs Indonesia vs Philippines | vs Iraq | |
| Nasser Al-Gahwashi | vs United Arab Emirates vs United Arab Emirates | vs Bahrain | |
| Harwan Al-Zubaidi | vs Bahrain vs United Arab Emirates | vs United Arab Emirates |