The AFC preliminary round of qualifiers for the 2026 Men’s World Cup was played THU 12-TUE 17 OCT 2023. The ten winning teams advanced to the first group phase.

Four years after falling to Cambodia at the same stage, Pakistan claimed revenge whilst making history at the same time. Following a goalless first leg, Pakistan’s 1-0 win in the second leg was their first ever victory in 34 Men’s World Cup qualifying matches, as Harun HAMID scored the winner midway through the second half.

Bangladesh advanced 3-2 on aggregate, eliminating the Maldives thanks to a goal and an assist by Foysal FAHIM in the second leg. Bhutan showed their fighting spirit with a 2-0 win in the second leg, though this was not sufficient to overcome Hong Kong’s four goal lead from the first leg.

The winning teams advance to the first group phase, joining 26 byed teams. The teams will play in nine groups of four teams each, starting in NOV 2023. The top two teams in each group will advance to the final round.

Series aggregate results are shown below.

• Afghanistan 02-00 Mongolia
• Maldives 02-03 Bangladesh
• Singapore 03-01 Guam
• Yemen 04-01 Sri Lanka
• Myanmar 05-01 Macao
• Cambodia 00-01 Pakistan
• Chinese Taipei 07-00 Timor-Leste
• Indonesia 12-00 Brunei Darussalam
• Hong Kong 04-02 Bhutan
• Nepal 02-01 Laos