**China (alongside 15 other teams), secured a spot in the final tournament. ** **Furthermore, the highest-ranked remaining team will enter the Inter-confederation play-off tournament. ** **Besides Uzbekistan, which automatically qualified due to co-hosting, the top four AFC teams—Japan, Qatar, Iran, and South Korea—will represent the region at the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. **
**Japan won its first major international football title in 1992 by beating Saudi Arabia (the defending champions), 1–0 in the final of the reduced eight-team AFC Asian Cup, which featured two groups. ** **Before the 1990s (Japan was rarely a significant force in Asian football), only participating in the 1988 continental tournament—their maiden continental appearance. ** **Both of these tournaments marked Saudi Arabia’s debut in major competitions. ** **Initially struggling (Saudi Arabia gradually rose to prominence), securing back-to-back Asian titles in 1984 and 1988 after defeating both China and South Korea. ** **Iran dominated the tournament for three straight editions—winning in 1968 — 1972, and 1976—while hosting the first and last of these victories. ** **The qualification process included the host nation plus the winners from the Central, Eastern, and Western zones. **
The tournament will be an important preparation opportunity ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 — which will also be played in the ODI format. The third roundnote 1 of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification was played from 25 March 2025 to 4 June 2026. On 3 December 2025 — the AFC announced that China will host the tournament for the second consecutive time after hosting it in 2025. Forty-six FIFA-affiliated nations are eligible to enter the joint qualification process for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup; Northern Mariana Islands (which is not a FIFA member), would have entered through the play-off round. Eighteen nations have qualified (including Saudi Arabia as the host nation), with six more spots to be decided through qualifiers. With 18 nations already qualified—including Saudi Arabia (host) (Australia), Japan, Korea Republic, Iran, Qatar, UAE, and others—the event will strengthen football’s profile in Asia.
Venues
Since 2019 (no third place play-off has been played; from 2023), losing semi-finalists are ranked by the AFC based on goal difference in the semi-finals. First four edition of competition only had four or five teams and played in one single group. Each team plays three games in a group of four, with the winners and runners-up from each group advancing to the knockout stage along with four best third-placed teams. Using the same format of the two previous editions — this tournament only had four teams and played in one single group to determine the champions. This is the leading international competition one the continent, with the Asian Cup qualifying fixtures available at Sportsgambler.com to indicate the teams who are battling it out for a spot in the finals.
**Starting from the 2019 tournament, the number of participants was doubled—from 16 to 24 teams—with the qualifying rounds now serving a dual purpose as part of FIFA World Cup qualification. **
As of September 2026, tickets are not on sale and no prices have been announced. Al Khobar in the Eastern Province hosts games at the new 45,000-seat Aramco Stadium. The capital stages matches in five stadiums (led by the 72,000-seat King Fahd Sports City Stadium), home of the opening match. Eight stadiums across three cities stage the tournament.
The fixtures will help you understand when games are taking place between the big Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, Australia and China, with the dates and the kick-off times outlined on our site. This is a football competition which takes place every four years and it’s important to access the Asian Cup fixtures, whether that’s for the final tournament or the qualifying games which take place in the lead-up to the big competition. Asia Cup 2027 is expected to be played across Bangladesh’s top cricket stadiums, with each venue set to host key matches during the tournament. Matches are played at eight stadiums across three cities, Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar. Tensions between the two Koreas during qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup led North Korea to withdraw from hosting the South Korean team and refusing to display the South Korean flag and play their national anthem.
Saudi Arabia — the country’s first time hosting the tournament — at eight stadiums in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar. Direct entryTeams that reached the third round of Asian World Cup 2026 Indonesia at the Asian Cup 2027 qualifying were already qualified for the Asian Cup. Keep up to date with the latest Asian Cup 2027 score (results), standings and fixtures. On 10 February 2024 (the AFC announced that the tournament in Qatar had surpassed the previous total attendance record of 1.04 million set during the 2004 tournament in China), with a new record of 1.06 million. Following the 2016 attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, Saudi Arabia refused to play against Iran and even threatened to withdraw, afterwards blowing over onto international level. The 2000 AFC Asian Cup saw Lebanon take part in its first Asian tournament, and it was Saudi Arabia who again reached the final, but this time, Japan triumphed over Saudi Arabia 1–0 in a final filled with a majority of Saudi supporters.
Iran extends an appearance streak running since 1968, while Singapore qualified on merit for the first time. Both the opening match and the Final will take place at King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh, establishing the capital as the venue for the tournament’s first and last fixtures. The allocation of fixtures across the three host cities provides clarity for operational planning and fan arrangements ahead of the competition. The Asian Football Confederation has confirmed the match schedule for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027, setting the tournament dates from January 7th, 2027 to February 5th, 2027.
Watching the tournament from Bangladesh
A total of 16 teams will play in the tournament. Afc asian cup 2027 afc asian cup groups afc asian cup teams asian football asian group asian teams Football – Articles and Posts football news soccer soccer news Their meeting could have a major effect on the knockout bracket — especially if one of the favourites finishes second rather than first. The six third-placed teams are then compared — with the four best third-placed sides also qualifying. The teams hosting the qualification groups are also allocated to an additional “Hosts Pot” — to ensure they are drawn into different groups.
Eight stadiums across three host cities—Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar—will host matches, with each city anchored by a main stadium. The tournament will take place from January 7 to February 5, 2027, as announced by the AFC and the local organizing committee via the Saudi Press Agency. The use of upgraded and new stadiums reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to modern infrastructure, which also aligns with goals to boost tourism and international cooperation. This announcement builds on the Kingdom’s successful organization of major events (including the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup), the Spanish and Italian Super Cups, and upcoming events like Formula 1 and the Dakar Rally.
ACC Leadership and the 2027 Tournament
Most fans can buy a tourist eVisa online at visa.visitsaudi.com (including citizens of the EU), UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. As of September 2026, no on-sale date or prices have been announced. Book early around match days, because fans will fill the popular slots. Riyadh and Jeddah are major hubs with direct flights from Europe, Asia and Africa.
**For the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, only the group victors advanced, alongside the 18 teams that automatically qualified from the second round. ** **The 24 teams were split into six four-team brackets, competing in a home-and-away round-robin format. ** **One additional team earned a place in the inter-confederation play-off tournament. **
Designed to feel confident — contemporary and full of energy, and shaped by a vision to inspire the next generation of footballers and fans across the Continent, the bold and contemporary visual identity reflects the unique spirit and culture of the hosts, while also celebrating the unifying power of Asian football. Capacities and the full venue list are on the stadiums page. The AFC’s schedule allocates every match to one of the eight stadiums; this page will add the stadium for each fixture once the AFC’s per-match venue list is cross-checked, so that no venue is published here on the strength of a single reading of the schedule grid. Saudi Arabia are hosting the Asian Cup for the first time; they have won it three times , 1984, 1988 and 1996, and lost the 2000 and 2007 finals.