The draw has been made for the men’s Fifa World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, and for the women’s and men’s group stages of this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The Asian Games will take place from September 23 to October 8.
They will be followed by qualifiers that will determine who progresses to both the men’s Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup, with the first round starting on October 12 and the group phase beginning on November 16.
China were drawn against South Korea in Group C, while Australia will take on Palestine in Group I. In Group B, Japan were placed with North Korea.
Group A: Afghanistan v Mongolia in first round. Winners progress to Group A with Qatar, India, Kuwait.
Group B: Myanmar v Macau in first round. Winners progress to Group B with Japan, Syria and North Korea.
Group C: Singapore v Guam in first round. Winners progress to Group C with South Korea, China and Thailand.
Group D: Taiwan v Timor-Leste in first round. Winners progress to Group D with Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia.
Group E: Hong Kong v Bhutan in first round. Winners progress to Group E with Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Group F: Indonesia v Brunei in first round. Winners progress to Group F with Iraq, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Group G: Cambodia v Pakistan in first round. Winners progress to Group G with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tajikistan.
Group H: Nepal v Laos and Yemen v Sri Lanka in first round. Winners progress to Group H with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Group I: Maldives v Bangladesh in first round. Winners progress to Group I with Australia, Palestine and Lebanon.
Hong Kong face a tough task in Group E against South Korea and Philippines – both of whom are currently playing in the Fifa Women’s World Cup. China will take on neighbours Mongolia in Group A and Singapore will go against North Korea in Group C.
Group A: China, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.
Group B: Taiwan, Thailand and India.
Group C: North Korea, Singapore and Cambodia.
Group D: Japan, Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Group E: South Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines and Myanmar.
China v India in Group A is among the pick of the ties. Japan have Qatar in Group D.
Group A: China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.
Group B: Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Mongolia.
Group C: Uzbekistan, Syria, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.
Group D: Japan, Palestine and Qatar.
Group E: South Korea, Bahrain, Thailand and Kuwait.
Group F: North Korea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan.
