At present, the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Asian Round of 36 has ended 4 rounds of competition, and the last two rounds will be held in June.
Group A: Qatar, India, Afghanistan, Kuwait
At present, Qatar has 4 wins (8-1 Afghanistan; 3-0 India; 3-0 Kuwait; 2-1 Kuwait) with 12 points, and the Qatar team, the champion of the Asian Cup for two consecutive years, has qualified two rounds in advance!
India has 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses (1-0 Kuwait; 0-0 Afghanistan; 0-3 Qatar; 1-2 Afghanistan) with 4 points and is temporarily second in the group by virtue of goal difference;
Afghanistan (2-1 India, 0-0 India, 1-8 Qatar, 0-4 Kuwait) also have four points and are third in the group due to goal difference (seven fewer than India).
Kuwait have 1 win and 3 losses (4-0 Afghanistan; 0-1 India; 0-3 Qatar; 1-2 Qatar) and have three points and are temporarily bottom of the group. You must know that Kuwait was once the Asian champion, and now it has fallen to this point, worse than the Chinese men's football team, which is indeed a big surprise.
However, for Kuwait at present, there is still a chance to qualify from the group, with the last two rounds away to India and Afghanistan at home, as long as they win both, they will qualify as second in the group.
In addition to playing Kuwait in the last two rounds, India and Afghanistan have to play against Qatar, the strongest team in the group, so the situation of India and Afghanistan is not optimistic.
Group B: Japan, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar
The only variable in this group at the moment is that the fourth round of North Korea's home match against Japan has not been held for some reason, and it is awaiting the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, and since North Korea unilaterally gave up the home stadium, it is very likely that Japan will win.
In this way, Japan will have won all four games in the past and qualified two rounds in advance, which is still very probable. Japan currently have nine points from three wins (5-0 Myanmar, 5-0 Syria, 1-0 North Korea) and are currently top of the standings with one game less.
Syria has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss (1-0 North Korea; 7-0 Myanmar; 1-1 Myanmar; 0-5 Japan) with 7 points and is in second place in the group.
North Korea has 1 win and 2 losses (6-1 Myanmar; 0-1 Syria; 0-1 Japan) with 3 points, and is temporarily in third place with one game less, but in the fourth round, North Korea banned the entry of the entire Japanese team due to the current number of "severe hemolytic streptococcus" infection cases in Japan, and did not confirm the replacement home stadium, so North Korea is likely to lose this game.
Although such a result is not good for the North Korean team's prospects of qualifying, they will not make concessions to Japan entering their own territory, which is so tough!
However, North Korea will play Syria and Myanmar at home in the last two rounds, and as long as they win all of them, and Syria cannot beat Japan in the final round, North Korea can still qualify.
Although Syria is currently in second place in the group, it will face North Korea and Japan away in the last two rounds, and it will be difficult to get out of the group. So from the current point of view, there is no objection to the Japanese team to qualify early, Syria and North Korea will compete for the second qualifying spot, and Myanmar will be at the bottom of the group.
Group C: South Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore
At present, South Korea has 10 points from 3 wins and 1 draw (5-0 Singapore; 3-0 China; 3-0 Thailand; 1-1 Thailand), and is temporarily the first in the group.
The Chinese men's football team has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss (2-1 Thailand; 4-1 Singapore; 2-2 Singapore; 0-3 South Korea) with 7 points and is temporarily ranked second in the group. However, the Chinese men's football team has not lifted the alarm, and the fifth round of the home game against Thailand on June 6 will determine the qualification situation of the Chinese men's football team.
If they win at home against Thailand, they will qualify one round early! If they draw with Thailand and face South Korea in the final round, a draw will qualify, which is a torment for the fans......
If they lose at home to Thailand, then the chances of the Chinese men's football team qualifying are very low, because Thailand will play Singapore at home in the last round, and we will play South Korea away. Therefore, although the Chinese men's football team is currently in second place in the group, it is still full of variables.
It is worth mentioning that in the men's Asian Cup that ended in early February, the Thai men's football team accumulated 5 points in the group stage with 1 win and 2 draws (2-0 Kyrgyzstan; 0-0 Oman; 0-0 Saudi Arabia) and advanced to the round of 16 with an undefeated record.
Therefore, the Thai men's football team still has a certain strength, and the Chinese team must not take it lightly! In this group, South Korea occupies a qualifying place, and China and Thailand compete for the second qualifying place.
Group D: Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei
At present, Kyrgyzstan has 3 wins and 1 loss (1-0 Oman; 2-0 Chinese Taipei; 5-1 Chinese Taipei; 3-4 Malaysia) with 9 points, and the goal difference is the same as Oman, and it is temporarily top of the group by virtue of mutual record advantage.
Oman has 3 wins and 1 defeat (3-0 Chinese Taipei; 2-0 Malaysia; 2-0 Malaysia; 0-1 Kyrgyzstan) and is second in the group with 9 points.
Malaysia have 2 wins and 2 losses (4-3 Kyrgyzstan; 1-0 Chinese Taipei; 0-2 Oman; 0-2 Oman) with six points and are in third place in the group.
The competition in this group is still very fierce, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, and Malaysia are competing for two qualifying places, and Chinese Taipei has been out of the tournament in advance.
In the last two rounds, Kyrgyzstan has the most dangerous schedule, with a home game against Malaysia and then an away game against Oman. In the last two rounds of Oman and Malaysia, one of them is against Chinese Taipei, the weakest player in this group, so the current situation is favorable for Oman and Malaysia.
Group E: Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong, China
The qualification for this group is already very clear, with Iran and Uzbekistan joining forces to qualify two rounds early, while Turkmenistan and Hong Kong are out two rounds early.
Iran won 3 and drew 1 (4-0 Hong Kong, 5-0 Turkmenistan, 1-0 Turkmenistan, 2-2 Uzbekistan) with 10 points and ranked first in the group on goal difference.
Uzbekistan has 10 points from 3 wins and 1 draw (3-1 Turkmenistan; 2-0 Hong Kong; 2-2 Iran), with a goal difference of three less than Iran, and is second in the group. Turkmenistan and Hong Kong, China both drew 1 and lost 3 without a win, and were out of the tournament ahead of schedule.
Group F: Iraq, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines
At present, Iraq has 12 points from 4 wins (5-1 Indonesia, 1-0 Vietnam, 1-0 Philippines, 5-0 Philippines) and has qualified for the group two rounds ahead of schedule.
Indonesia has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss (1-0 Vietnam; 3-0 Vietnam; 1-1 Philippines; 1-5 Iraq) with 7 points, temporarily ranked second in the group, and the qualification situation is clear, because the last two rounds of home games against Iraq and the Philippines are very probable, especially the probability of winning the Philippines in the last game, when the points reach 10 points to ensure qualification.
With three points from 1 win and 3 defeats (2-0 Philippines; 0-1 Iraq; 0-1 Indonesia; 0-3 Indonesia), Vietnam has become a theoretical possibility to qualify, and it will be difficult to win the last two rounds against Indonesia and Iraq respectively. The Philippines is difficult to find a win with 1 draw and 3 losses, although there is hope of theoretical promotion, but it is difficult to escape the fate of going out.
It is worth mentioning that in the third and fourth rounds that have just ended, Vietnam lost to Indonesia twice, and Vietnam lost the initiative to qualify, so the head coach Troussier was fired.
You must know that Indonesia beat Vietnam in the Asian Cup last month, with 1 win and 2 losses (1-0 Vietnam, 1-3 Iraq, 1-3 Japan) and 3 points, becoming one of the four best group thirds, and breaking into the round of 16 of the Asian Cup in a historic way!
In just over a month, Indonesia has killed the Vietnamese team three times, and the Chinese men's football team can't say that they have won 100% of all three games against Vietnam, and I have to say that Indonesia's progress is indeed too fast!
Group G: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Tajikistan, Pakistan
This group has undoubtedly become the group of death, in the Asian Cup that ended last month, although Saudi Arabia missed the top 8, but lost to South Korea on penalties, and it is a pity to lose, and Tajikistan advanced to the top 8, lost 0-1 to Jordan in the quarter-finals, and the Jordanian team made a historic break into the Asian Cup final, so after the Asian Cup, this group undoubtedly became the group of death.
At present, Saudi Arabia has 3 wins and 1 draw (4-0 Pakistan; 2-0 Jordan; 1-0 Tajikistan; 1-1 Tajikistan) with 10 points, and as long as the fifth round wins away against Pakistan, you can qualify one round in advance, and the qualifying situation is very good!
Jordan has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss (3-0 Pakistan; 7-0 Pakistan; 1-1 Tajikistan; 0-2 Saudi Arabia) with 7 points, temporarily ranked second in the group, and the last two rounds will be played at home against Tajikistan and away against Saudi Arabia......
Tajikistan has 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss (6-1 Pakistan; 1-1 Jordan; 1-1 Saudi Arabia; 0-1 Saudi Arabia) and is in third place in the group with 5 points. In the last two rounds away to Tajikistan and at home to Pakistan, the qualification situation is still in their own hands.
Group H: UAE, Bahrain, Yemen, Nepal
The group is very strong, with the UAE and Bahrain being much stronger than Yemen and Nepal as a whole, and it is almost certain that the two teams will qualify together.
At present, the UAE has 10 points from 4 wins (4-0 Nepal; 2-0 Bahrain; 2-1 Yemen; 3-0 Yemen) and has qualified from the group two rounds ahead of schedule.
Bahrain finished second in the group with 9 points (2-0 Yemen, 5-0 Nepal, 3-0 Nepal, 0-2 UAE) and will qualify for the group with a win at home to Yemen in the fifth round on June 6.
At present, Yemen have 1 win and 3 losses (2-0 Nepal; 0-2 Bahrain; 1-2 UAE; 0-3 UAE) and have three points, temporarily in third place in the group. Nepal has too much strength, and it is difficult to find a win to finish at the bottom and go out early.
Group I: Australia, Palestine, Lebanon, Bangladesh
Australia currently have 12 points from four wins (7-0 Bangladesh; 1-0 Palestine; 2-0 Lebanon; 5-0 Lebanon) and have qualified for the group two rounds ahead of schedule.
Palestine 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss (5-0 Bangladesh; 1-0 Bangladesh; 0-0 Lebanon; 0-1 Australia) are in second place in the group with 7 points. In the last two rounds at home to Lebanon and away against Australia, qualification is not yet guaranteed.
Lebanon has 2 points from 2 draws and 2 defeats (0-0 Palestine; 1-1 Bangladesh; 0-2 Australia; 0-5 Australia) and is currently third in the group, and there is still hope of beating Palestine to qualify from the group. One of the most important matches will be the fifth round on June 6, away to Palestine.
In this way, it is not easy for Palestine to beat Australia away, and Lebanon will play at home against Bangladesh, the weakest team in this group, and a win will be a high probability event.
To sum up, after the first four rounds of the round of 36 in the Asian region of the World Preliminaries, six teams from Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia qualified for two rounds ahead of schedule! Five teams from Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong, China, Pakistan, and Nepal were eliminated two rounds ahead of schedule.
For the Chinese people, the most concerned is the Chinese men's football team's home game against Thailand on June 6, the result of that game will largely determine the fate of the Chinese men's football team, I wish the Chinese men's football team good luck!