FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Anuj T
The third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers witnessed the ups and downs of the teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). AFC teams will look to bank on the opportunity to play in one of the biggest sporting calendar events in 2026.
All three groups witnessed a lot of exciting footballing action and many impressive goals, as they continued to shape up excitingly. While the perennial favorites continue to reign supreme in their respective groups, some teams sprang up with surprise results.
We’re in the second half of the #AsianQualifiers and here’s how the groups are shaping 💪#AsianQualifiers | #JourneyTo26 | @qatarairways pic.twitter.com/P3h0FbymI2
Iran continued to hold the top spot in Group A and recorded a close 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan courtesy of goals from Mehdi Taremi, Saleh Hardani, and Sardar Azmoun. Despite being down to 10 men, Uzbekistan also recorded a narrow 1-0 win over North Korea courtesy of a 44th-minute goal from Abbosbek Fayzullaev.
In the final game from Group A, the United Arab Emirates thumped Qatar by a scoreline of 5-0 in one of the eye-catching encounters from the week.
In a surprise result in Matchweek 6 from Group B, group leaders South Korea was held to a 1-1 draw by a resolute Palestine side.
Second-placed Iraq recorded an important 1-0 victory over Oman which reduced the gap to the leaders by just 3 points. In the final encounter in the group, Jordan was held to a 1-1 draw by Kuwait after Mohammed Daham’s 68th-minute equalizer canceled out Yazan Al-Aimat’s opener.
ALSO READ: List of all international matches’ results in Asia played in November 2024
Group leaders Japan recorded an impressive 3-1 win over China courtesy of a brace from Koki Ogawa and a goal from Ko Itakura.
Second-placed Australia scored in stoppage time to secure a nervy 2-2 draw against a tough Bahrain side courtesy of the last-ditch goal from Kusini Yengi.
Indonesia secured an important 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia despite going down to 10 men in the 89th minute after Justin Hubner was sent off.
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