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Seeing the pots and the qualifying process, I wouldn't be shocked to see us in the playoffs (yet again). Surely not the inter confederation... But you never knowWe would have to be complete muppets not to qualify, so many chances:
Next up for us is the Third round, 3 groups of 6. Top 2 from each group go to the WC.
3rd and 4th from each group go on to the Fourth round, 2 groups of 3. Winners of each group go to WC.
Runners-up from each group go to the Fifth round! This is a two-legged playoff to progress to the inter-confederation play-offs. This is the one we'd want to avoid.
The fifth-round winner will join one team each from CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
We don't like doing this the easy way.