The draws for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the Asian nations were announced today by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation). Out of the 45 Asian countries, only eight to nine will be able to feature in the mega event which is to be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Pakistan Football Team will begin its long road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Cambodia in the first qualification round.
What is the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification format for Asian nations?
A record number of nations will take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after FIFA announced the expansion of the tournament by 16 countries. As a result, the qualification format for the AFC sides has been tweaked a bit.
The AFC qualifiers will consist of five rounds this time around. In the first round, the bottom 18 sides in the FIFA AFC Rankings will take part in two-legged ties. In the second stage, the top 27 AFC-ranked countries and nine winners from round one will be participating.
The 36 sides will be divided into nine groups of four teams. The nine group winners and runners-up will progress to the next stage and automatically qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, to be held in Saudi Arabia.
In the third stage, the 18 nations will be divided into three groups of six teams. Like the previous round, all sides will be playing each other twice. After which the top two countries from each group will qualify for the World Cup, whereas countries ranked third and fourth in the group will enter round four.
In stage four the six nations from the third round will be divided into two groups of three teams. This time the teams will play each other only once and that too at a neutral venue. The winners of both groups will qualify for the World Cup, whereas the runners-up will progress to stage five.
In stage five the two sides will play each other in a two-legged tie with the winner progressing to the Inter Confederation Playoffs. Six nations from five different confederations will be taking part in the Inter-Confederation Playoffs from where two countries will qualify for the World Cup.
Also Read: Pathway for Pakistan Men’s Football Team to Play their first-ever AFC Asia Cup 2027
When will Pakistan Football Team face Cambodia?
Pakistan Football Team will be facing Cambodia in the first round. The same opponents that knocked out Shaheens in the previous Qualifiers. The first leg of the tie will be held in Cambodia on 12th October 2023 whereas Pakistan will host their Asian rivals on 17th October 2023. The side with the superior score on aggregate will advance to the second stage.
In the second round, the winner of this tie will be grouped with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tajikistan.
How has Pakistan Football Team fared in FIFA WCQ?
Pakistan Football Team took part in its first FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1990. And since then, they have participated in nine Qualification campaigns. Unfortunately, the Shaheens haven’t had the best of times in the Qualifiers.
They have featured in 32 qualification games up till now and have ended up on the losing side on 28 occasions. Whereas four games have ended in a draw. As a matter of fact, they have never made it past the first round.
In the previous edition, they were pitted against Cambodia. Cambodia won the two-legged tie with an aggregate of 4-1. Pakistan lost the first leg by 2-0, courtesy of two late goals from the Asian side. In the second leg, the Shaheens managed to half the two-goal deficit when Hassan Bashir scored from the spot kick in the 17th minute.
They showed great fight throughout the match by creating plenty of goal-scoring opportunities. But their defensive fragility again came to the forefront as Comboadia scored twice in the second half to win the tie.
Since the FIFA ban on Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was lifted, the Shaheens have been very active in the international arena. They have featured in eight international games in the last six months. Although the results have not gone their way, Pakistan’s head coach will be hoping that the experience gained from these matches will help them to overcome Cambodia’s challenge this time around.
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