# 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round

The third round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification will be played from 25 March 2025 to 31 March 2026.

## Format

A total of 24 teams (3 best ranked losing teams from the first round + 18 third and fourth-placed teams from the second round + 3 winners from the play-off round) will participate in the third round to compete for the final six slots in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. Only the group winners of each group will qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, where they will join the 18 teams which qualified directly from the second round.

## Qualified teams

Best-ranked losing teams from the first round:
* Bhutan
* Laos
* Maldives
Teams finishing third or fourth in their respective second round groups:
* Afghanistan
* Bangladesh
* Chinese Taipei
* Hong Kong
* India
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen
Play-off round winners:
* Brunei
* Timor-Leste
* Sri Lanka

## Seeding

The draw was held on 9 December 2024 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 15:00 (UTC+8). The teams were drawn into six groups of four teams each, with the seeding based on the November 2024 FIFA World Rankings.
FIFA Rankings as of 28 November 2024 :
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Syria (95) Thailand (97) Tajikistan (104) Lebanon (112) Vietnam (116) India (127) | Malaysia (132) Turkmenistan (143) Philippines (149) Afghanistan (155) Hong Kong (156) Yemen (158) | Singapore (161) Maldives (162) Chinese Taipei (165) Myanmar (167) Nepal (175) Bhutan (182) | Brunei (184) Bangladesh (185) Laos (186) Timor-Leste (196) Pakistan (198) Sri Lanka (200) |

## Schedule

The schedule of each matchday is as follows.
| Matchday | Dates |
| Matchday 1 | 25 March 2025 |
| Matchday 2 | 10 June 2025 |
| Matchday 3 | 9 October 2025 |
| Matchday 4 | 14 October 2025 |
| Matchday 5 | 18 November 2025 |
| Matchday 6 | 31 March 2026 |

## Groups

The winner of each group will qualify for the final tournament, joining the 18 teams that qualified directly (including the host).

### Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers will be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 7.3):
* Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
* If more than two teams are tied, and after applying criteria 1 to 3, a subset of teams is still tied, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Goals scored in all group matches;
* Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they meet in the last round of the group;
* Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
* Drawing of lots.

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Tajikistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | — | 31 Mar '26 | 9 Oct | 25 Mar |
| 2 | Philippines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 Jun | — | 25 Mar | 14 Oct |
| 3 | Maldives | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 Oct | 18 Nov | — | 31 Mar '26 |
| 4 | Timor-Leste | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 Nov | 9 Oct | 10 Jun | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | — | 31 Mar '26 | 9 Oct | 25 Mar |
| 2 | Yemen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 Jun | — | 18 Nov | 14 Oct |
| 3 | Bhutan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 Oct | 25 Mar | — | 31 Mar '26 |
| 4 | Brunei | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 Nov | 9 Oct | 10 Jun | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | — | 31 Mar '26 | 9 Oct | 25 Mar |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 Jun | — | 18 Nov | 14 Oct |
| 3 | Singapore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 Oct | 25 Mar | — | 31 Mar '26 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 Nov | 9 Oct | 10 Jun | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | — | 31 Mar '26 | 9 Oct | 25 Mar |
| 2 | Turkmenistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 Jun | — | 18 Nov | 14 Oct |
| 3 | Chinese Taipei | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 Oct | 25 Mar | — | 31 Mar '26 |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 Nov | 9 Oct | 10 Jun | — |

### Group E

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Syria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | — | 31 Mar '26 | 9 Oct | 25 Mar |
| 2 | Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 Jun | — | 18 Nov | 14 Oct |
| 3 | Myanmar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 Oct | 25 Mar | — | 31 Mar '26 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 Nov | 9 Oct | 10 Jun | — |

### Group F

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Vietnam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup | — | 31 Mar '26 | 9 Oct | 25 Mar |
| 2 | Malaysia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 10 Jun | — | 18 Nov | 14 Oct |
| 3 | Nepal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 Oct | 25 Mar | — | 31 Mar '26 |
| 4 | Laos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 Nov | 9 Oct | 10 Jun | — |