Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Asian Football Confederation announced the revamped qualification format on the 1st of August 2022. This announcement established a new structure with eight direct qualifying slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot.
A draw ceremony took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 27th of July 2023. Officials used this event to determine groupings for the first and second rounds.
These final qualifiers took place over two legs on the 13th of November 2025 and the 18th of November 2025. The fifth round determined the Asian representative for the inter-confederation play-offs.
Japan qualified as the first AFC team marking their seventh appearance in FIFA World Cup history. They had previously appeared in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.
Australia made their eleventh appearance while Saudi Arabia reached the finals with six prior appearances spanning from 1994 to 2022. Iran qualified for their sixth consecutive tournament since 1994 and Iraq earned a spot after winning the fifth round against another second-placed team from the fourth round.