The 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will increase the number of Asian seats by four to a maximum of nine.
The change is due to the increase in the number of participating teams from 32 to 48.
The 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by three countries for the first time in history, will increase the number of participating teams from the current 32 to 48.
The Asian Football Confederation announced on the 1st the format of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
As a result, the number of slots for Asia in the main tournament will be 9 at maximum, which will increase the number of slots by 4.
The qualifiers will also be played in a different way than before, with a total of 36 teams participating in the 2nd qualifiers, including the 25 top-ranked teams in the world rankings affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and the 11 teams that won the 1st qualifiers.
Japan, currently ranked 24th in the world, is expected to participate in the second round.
The 36 teams will be divided into 9 groups and will compete in a round robin, with the top 2 teams in each group advancing to the final qualifiers.
The final qualifying is also a round robin, and 18 teams are divided into 3 groups, and the top 2 teams each win the right to participate in the main tournament.
In addition, a total of 6 teams that placed 3rd and 4th in the group in the final qualifier will go to the playoffs to compete for 2 spots, and 1 team may also participate in the intercontinental playoffs.