The March calendar of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification in Asia had come to an end after Matchdays 7 and 8.
Here’s how the qualification in Group A looks after March.
Iran
The Princes of Persia have a lot to feel pleased about. They finally get what they wanted: a fourth consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance. This came after a bitter nail-to-nail, tooth-to-tooth clash against Uzbekistan, which saw Iran come back twice to snatch a precious 2-2 draw that secured Iran’s progress and extended Amir Ghalenoei’s unbeaten streak in this cycle.
With six wins and two draws, Iran have made it known who are the bosses in the group.
This qualification will also become important because the upcoming event in North America may represent the last chance for Iran’s Golden Generation to finally come alive.
Key men like Inter Milan’s Mehdi Taremi are already 32 years old, Alireza Jahanbakhsh is 31, and Sardar Azmoun is also 30.
Other members of this team are also ageing, like Alireza Beiranvand, Saman Ghoddos, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Milad Mohammadi, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Shojae Khalilzadeh and Mehdi Torabi. Ghalenoei has a history of struggling against opponents outside his knowledge.
Also, the fact that Iran couldn’t beat Uzbekistan in four meetings around the same cycle suggested that other, more powerful foes are likely to exploit it.
Iran team celebrates. (Photo by Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Uzbekistan
Timur Kapadze was named coach to replace the Slovenian Katanec, and he quickly proved why he was worth it.
Although Uzbekistan did not qualify by the end of March, they are now just one step closer to the dreamland they have long desired.
A dominant but light 1-0 win at home to Kyrgyzstan was followed by an impressive 2-2 draw in Tehran against Iran, and Uzbekistan had their reasons to feel bitter when they should have really won in the end.
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Surely, the rise of new Uzbek stars like Eldor Shomurodov and Abdukodir Khusanov has facilitated their incredible form.
Not just being undefeated to Iran, Uzbekistan had also snatched wins, even if some of these wins were hard-fought. But the commitment to develop youth football in the Central Asian nation has ultimately proven to be vital in injecting new energy to the Uzbek side to their powerful display.
The June fixtures will definitely be crucial for the White Wolves to finally end their hurt. With the United Arab Emirates producing sloppy performance and Qatar literally having no more hope to qualify directly for the big event, Uzbekistan just need to snatch at least a draw from the UAE to finally book a permanent place at the North American tournament.
If not, they will have to beat Qatar to ensure qualification regardless of the outcome of the Kyrgyzstan-UAE match. The chance to end their reputation as chokers is never as high as this time.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE don’t seem to be able to escape from the cycle of mediocrity, something that has plagued Paulo Bento and his staff. With the side four points behind Uzbekistan, Al-Abyad will have to ponder if they are even good enough to be decent.
It’s not a bad performance from the Emiratis if counting against the likes of Qatar, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea, but against Iran and Uzbekistan seem to be tall orders.
Indeed, although the UAE do perform to an acceptable extent, the UAE barely look threatening against teams deemed to be stronger. Earlier losses to Iran and Uzbekistan only confirm the UAE’s dubiousness and uncertainty.
Hope remains alive for the UAE, but that also means the UAE need a total miracle, with Uzbekistan needing to lose two last fixtures, including the decisive Matchday 9 encounter in June.
Yet it doesn’t seem like the UAE will even qualify directly, as the matter is not in their control – and whether they will even demonstrate anything in the playoffs is also another matter to guess.
Qatar
The Asian champions in two consecutive AFC Asian Cups have to face a dark reality: the chance to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup directly is gone.
The catastrophic 3-1 away defeat to Kyrgyzstan was the final straw for the side, as they did not look as confident as they once were.
Having sacked Bartolomé Márquez after six disastrous matches earlier, his assistant Luis García was named the new coach, but it does not seem like the Maroons will get over their crisis. The Qataris have produced a lame Gulf Cup performance in Kuwait, where they finished bottom after winning only two points in the group phase.
The 5-1 thumping of North Korea offered some hope, but it vanished after the horror in Bishkek, where Lucas Mendes’ red card proved pivotal.
For the Maroons to even qualify for the World Cup, winning against Iran at home and Uzbekistan away are not just orders, but a must if they ever wish to stay in the qualifying cycle. Playoffs remain feasible for them, and they need to turn their attention there quickly if they really want to compensate for their subpar performances.
Kyrgyzstan
The newcomers of the third round have shocked Asia with perhaps one of the country’s most famous victories: a 3-1 home win over a desperate Qatar to snatch their just second win to keep their slim hope to qualify for the World Cup alive.
Surely, the inexperience of Kyrgyz hawks has played a major role as the team won just six points after eight matches, but valuable victories at home against North Korea and Qatar showed the growing maturity of Maksim Lisitsyn’s side.
In particular, they have been able to put up some valiant displays against stronger foes like Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar and the UAE.
Kyrgyzstan will still need a miracle to do something, though. Despite beating Asian champions, Qatar remain four points above, and unless Qatar drops points to Iran and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan will find their tasks of overcoming North Korea and the UAE really challenging for themselves.
North Korea
Probably, dictator Kim Jong-un would have loved to see North Korea qualify for the World Cup to propagate the image of his beautiful utopia. But after eight matches, North Korea ended up becoming the first team to be eliminated from the cycle of the round.
The DPRK have only themselves to blame. Given the country’s isolationism, North Korean football has been completely cut off from valuable footballing experiences and exchanges.
This means North Korea have to rely on old textbooks of tactical management, unable to recognise the changes worldwide.
While some of these old textbooks did, indeed, do them favours like holding Asian champions Qatar and the UAE to a halt or putting tough fights in the group, it ultimately did little to turn the tables around for the North Koreans.
With World Cup hope effectively gone, North Korea will have the June calendar as consolation only.
But with the way the Chollima have performed, even winning a point against the likes of Kyrgyzstan and Iran seems to be a tall order.
