Asian qualifying is an incredibly lengthy process, that seemingly takes pretty much the entire four-year period between World Cups to work out.

Incredibly, the first game of the first round took place on October 12, 2023.

I know.

For reference, the UEFA qualification period started during this current international window and some teams in Europe won’t play their first qualification match until September, almost two years after Asia’s teams first entered the fray.

Nuts, right?

Anyway, Australia entered things at the second qualification phase, won all their matches to top their group and join the third qualification phase.

This third qualification phase is where we are now, and it is all up for grabs with three games to go – just check out the table.

In this phase, two teams from each group will automatically book their spot in North America.

Japan, in Australia’s group, has already booked its spot, meaning there is one automatic spot to play for.

IF Australia gets a top two spot, hurray! The Socceroos are at the World Cup.

If they don’t, they go into ANOTHER phase of Asian qualifiers – as long as they finish third or fourth in the group.

The six teams that head to the fourth group phase are split into two groups and play each other once in a single venue.

The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup.

The runners-up of each group advance to the fifth phase of qualifying, a home-and-away contest over two legs.

Winning that does not get you to the World Cup though, oh no.

That just means you get into the inter-confederation play-offs.

The play-offs feature six teams: One from Asia, one from Africa, two from CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Carribean), one from South America and one from Oceania, which has already been confirmed to be New Caledonia.

These teams will be split into two brackets of three teams.

Each bracket winner will qualify for the World Cup.

The teams will be seeded based on the world rankings, with the two lower-ranked teams facing off in a semi-final, with the winner advancing to the final against the highest ranked team in that trio.

That play off will only take place three months before the start of the World Cup.