Asian Qualifiers - Landing Page (AR)2

The nine group winners and the respective runners-up will advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, and at the same time seal their places at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.

The other 18 teams from Round 2 will proceed directly to the third and final round of AFC Asian Cup qualifying.

The-AFC.com brings you up to speed with how the groups stand ahead of Thursday's Matchday Three.

The Central Asian side advanced to the quarter-finals at Qatar 2023 before losing on penalties to the hosts.

Head coach Srecko Katanec, in a recent interview with the-AFC.com, said he is looking forward to the Qualifiers with Uzbekistan to play a double-header against Hong Kong, China with the Slovenian having called up 20 of the 26 players from the AFC Asian Cup squad.

Hwang, who is also the head coach of Korea Republic's U23 side, replaces German Jurgen Klinsmann.

The 62-year-old Spaniard signed the contract on Friday, having steered Qatar's successful defence of their AFC Asian Cup™ title earlier this month.

The Croatian replaces Aleksandar Jankovic, with the Serbian having been in charge of China PR at the recent AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™.

Some of Asia’s biggest stars took centre stage in the first two matches of the qualification campaign from which the nine group winners and nine runners-up will advance to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifying and seal a direct place in the AFC Asian Cup.

From Korea Republic ace Son Heung-min to Bangladesh wonderkid Shekh Morsalin, the-AFC.com takes a look at eight players who stood out for their national teams on Matchdays One and Two of the joint qualifiers.

While it is still early days, Matchday Two provided a glimpse of how the second round could eventually finish so join the-AFC.com as we take a look at the facts and figures from an eventful round of action.

With the qualifying action to resume in March, attention now turns to the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ with 24 of the 36 teams competing in Round 2 of the qualifiers to contest for the coveted trophy.

Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at five things we learned from Matchday Two.

Team manager Nualphan Lamsam said Polking would be replaced by Masatada Ishii, the 56-year-old Japanese coach who led Buriram United to Thai Premier League titles in 2022 and 2023.

The result left the two teams level on points heading into the next matchday scheduled for March, 2024.

Saleh Al Shehri scored both goals as Saudi Arabia moved to six points in Group G of the Preliminary Joint Qualification - Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™.

They sit two points ahead of Tajikistan with Jordan five adrift in third place.

The nine group winners and the respective runners-up will advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, and at the same time seal their places at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.

The other 18 teams from Round 2 will proceed directly to the third and final round of AFC Asian Cup qualifying.

The-AFC.com brings you up to speed with how the groups stand ahead of Thursday's Matchday Three.

The Central Asian side advanced to the quarter-finals at Qatar 2023 before losing on penalties to the hosts.

Head coach Srecko Katanec, in a recent interview with the-AFC.com, said he is looking forward to the Qualifiers with Uzbekistan to play a double-header against Hong Kong, China with the Slovenian having called up 20 of the 26 players from the AFC Asian Cup squad.

The Qatar Football Association (QFA) announced Al Haydos' decision on Saturday, bringing down the curtain on a 16-year career highlighted by back-to-back AFC Asian Cup victories.

Al Haydos is the most capped player for Qatar with 182 appearances, scoring 41 times.

This impressive mark obliterates the previous record of 890 million impressions that was set during the 2019 tournament in the United Arab Emirates by almost nine times and only serves to further underline the remarkable support showcased by the Continent’s passionate football audience.

Hwang, who is also the head coach of Korea Republic's U23 side, replaces German Jurgen Klinsmann.

The 62-year-old Spaniard signed the contract on Friday, having steered Qatar's successful defence of their AFC Asian Cup™ title earlier this month.

The Croatian replaces Aleksandar Jankovic, with the Serbian having been in charge of China PR at the recent AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™.

With dramatic late winners, notable upsets, fabulous goals and unique celebrations, the competition delivered the goods in emphatic fashion as hosts Qatar ultimately defended their title to be crowned champions after a 3-1 win over Jordan in the final.

Looking back at the tournament, the-AFC.com has selected eight of the best Visit Saudi Magic Moments and asks you, the fans, to vote for the favourite at the bottom of this article.

Fans of Asian football witnessed wonderful assists leading to memorable goals and in this segment, the-AFC.com asks you, the fans, to vote for your favourite assist at the foot of the article.

A total of 132 goals were scored in 51 matches across the country at a ratio of 2.59 per match. The-AFC.com selects eight of the finest strikes from the tournament and asks you, the fans, to vote for your favourite at the foot of the article.

In preparation for the 18th edition of the Confederation's premier men’s national team competition, the members of the medical team underwent thorough training in order to acquaint themselves with all the groundbreaking medical innovations that were introduced for the first time, such as the use of medical tablets and the implementation of paperless doping control measures.

Segrt, who assumed the post in March 2022, took Tajikistan to historic highs by qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup™ for the first time and breaking into the top 100 of the FIFA World Ranking.

Tajikistan’s rise continued in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, where they advanced to the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to Jordan in the quarter-finals.