The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is long and treacherous, with 206 countries competing through various pathways across six confederations for a spot at the sport's biggest event.

With co-hosts USA , Mexico and Canada automatically qualifying, 45 nations join them at the 48-team tournament.

A lot to sort through? Let's take a closer look at how each team qualified for the biggest World Cup yet. Asia (AFC)

Qualified teams:

Australia

Iran

Japan

Jordan

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

South Korea

Uzbekistan

Forty-six teams began World Cup qualifying in Asia, with 28 eliminated after the second round. In the third round, 18 teams were split into three groups of six.

The top two teams from each of these groups (Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Japan, Australia) qualified directl

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