2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round

2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third roundTournament details

Dates| 25 March 2025 – 31 March 2026
Teams| 24 (from 1 confederation)

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International football competition

The third round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification will be played from 25 March 2025 to 31 March 2026.[1]

## Format[edit]

A total of 24 teams (3 best ranked losing teams from the first round \+ 18 third and fourth-placed teams from the second round \+ 3 winners from the play-off round) will participate in the third round to compete for the final six slots in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. Only the group winners of each group will qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, where they will join the 18 teams which qualified directly from the second round.[1]

## Qualified teams[edit]

First Round Best ranked losing teams

Bhutan
Maldives
Laos
Second Round Group  | Third place  | Fourth place

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A |  India |  Afghanistan
B |  Syria |  Myanmar
C |  Thailand |  Singapore
D |  Malaysia |  Chinese Taipei
E |  Turkmenistan |  Hong Kong
F |  Vietnam |  Philippines
G |  Tajikistan |  Pakistan
H |  Yemen |  Nepal
I |  Lebanon |  Bangladesh
Play-off Round Winner

## Seeding[edit]

The seeding will be based on the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the draw on 19 December 2024.

The 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four. Each group will contain one team from each respective seeding pots.

Pot 1  | Pot 2  | Pot 3  | Pot 4

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1. Syria (89)
2. Tajikistan (99)
3. Thailand (101)
4. Vietnam (115)
5. Lebanon (120)
6. India (121)

7. Malaysia (138)
8. Philippines (141)
9. Turkmenistan (143)
10. Afghanistan (151)
11. Singapore (155)
12. Yemen (156)

13. Hong Kong (157)
14. Chinese Taipei (159)
15. Maldives (161)
16. Myanmar (163)
17. Nepal (178)
18. Bangladesh (184)

19. Bhutan (185)
20. Laos (190)
21. Pakistan (195)
22. Play-off Round Winner
23. Play-off Round Winner
24. Play-off Round Winner

## Schedule[edit]

The schedule of each matchday was as follows.[2][3]

Matchday  | Date(s)  | Matches

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Matchday 1  | 25 March 2025  | 1 v 4, 3 v 2
Matchday 2  | 10 June 2025  | 4 v 3, 2 v 1
Matchday 3  | 9 September 2025  | 4 v 2, 1 v 3
Matchday 4  | 14 October 2025  | 2 v 4, 3 v 1
Matchday 5  | 18 November 2025  | 4 v 1, 2 v 3
Matchday 6  | 31 March 2026  | 1 v 2, 3 v 4

## Groups[edit]

The winners of each group qualify for the final tournament.

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 9.3):[4]

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
5. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying criteria 1 to 4, a subset of teams were still tied, criteria 1 to 4 were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
6. Goal difference in all group matches;
7. Goals scored in all group matches;
8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
9. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
10. Drawing of lots.

### Group A[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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1  | A1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2027 AFC Asian Cup
2  | A2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |
3  | A3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
4  | A4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

### Group B[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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1  | B1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2027 AFC Asian Cup
2  | B2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |
3  | B3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
4  | B4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

### Group C[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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1  | C1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2027 AFC Asian Cup
2  | C2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |
3  | C3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
4  | C4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

### Group D[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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1  | D1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2027 AFC Asian Cup
2  | D2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |
3  | D3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
4  | D4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

### Group E[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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1  | E1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2027 AFC Asian Cup
2  | E2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |
3  | E3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
4  | E4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

### Group F[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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1  | F1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2027 AFC Asian Cup
2  | F2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |
3  | F3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0
4  | F4  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0

First match(es) will be played: March 2025. Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

## Notes[edit]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "AFC Competitions Committee approves key decisions on reformatted competitions". AFC. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
2. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2024 - Jul 2025)" (PDF). AFC.
3. ^ "AFC Competitions Calendar (Aug 2025 - Jul 2026)" (PDF). AFC.
4. ^ "AFC Asian Cup 2019 Competition Regulations". AFC.

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2027 AFC Asian Cup

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*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
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*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
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