India's potential route to FIFA World Cup 2026 revealed at Asian Qualifiers Round 2 Draw

The Indian football team has come a lot closer to making their debut at the pinnacle of footballing tournaments, the FIFA World Cup than what one would have imagined a few years ago. India currently ranks 99th in the FIFA Men’s Team Ranking and stands  above teams like Lebanon and Mauritania. At the same time, India is the 18th-ranked team in Asia as per the current FIFA rankings.

3 Things You Need To Know

• India recently completed a treble of trophies by winning the Tri-Nation Cup, Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF championship
• Team India are undefeated in their last 11 games, starting with the Hero Tri-Nation Cup opener
• The Indian football team has never made an appearance in the FIFA World Cup

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Indian football team's road to FIFA World Cup 2026 Revealed

India’s potential path to the FIFA World Cup 2026 was revealed during the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 Draw on Thursday. As reported earlier, a total of 48 teams will participate in the tournament, out of which at least eight of the teams will be from Asia. Due to their current position in the FIFA rankings, India will skip the Round one of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and will directly take part in Round two.

Alongside India, 25 other teams have earned direct qualification for Round two, and will be joined by 10 other teams from Round 1 of the Qualifiers. Here’s a look at the 26 teams who have already made it to the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 - Japan, India, Australia, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, UAE, Oman, Uzbekistan, China, Jordan, Bahrain, Syria, Vietnam, Palestine, Kyrgyz Republic, India, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Thailand, DPR Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Kuwait, Turkmenistan.

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Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 Format Explained

The Round 2 of the Qualification round will be played in a home-and-away format, with the 36 member associations divided into nine groups of four teams each in a round-robin format. The top 18 teams (winner and runner-ups from each groups) from the Round 2 of the Preliminary Joint Qualification will automatically qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 and the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 as well. The remaining 18 teams will be eliminated from the race for the World Cup but will head into the next stage of the Qualification for AFC Asian Cup 2027 Finals.

India to feature in Group A of the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2

Meanwhile, India was drawn into the Group A of the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 alongside other teams. Qatar and Kuwait ate the two other teams in the group, while the last member is yet to be determined. The fourth team in the group will be the winner between Afghanistan and Mongolia.