Doha, Qatar: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that Qatar and Saudi Arabia will host the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 Playoffs. 

The competition will see six teams, including Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, competing in a centralized format from October 8 to 14, 2025. The two group winners will secure automatic berths for the FIFA World Cup 2026. 

Following this, the runners-up from each group will compete in a two-legged playoff on November 13 and 18, 2025, to advance to the FIFA Play-off Tournament. The official draw for the qualifiers is set for July 17, 2025.