Asian Cup Draw Confirmed For Next Month

The draw for the continental showpiece was set to take place on April 11th but had to be postponed following the outbreak of war

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that the draw for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup will take place on May 9th, 2026 in Riyadh. The historic At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will host the draw.

The announcement follows the abrupt postponement of the draw- originally slated for April 11th- as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Since the decision was made to postpone the draw the field of finalists has become clearer. On the last match day of qualification in March, Tajikistan and Thailand punched their tickets getting the results they needed against Philippines and Turkmenistan, respectively.

Confirmation of the overturning of two wins registered by Malaysia as a result of fielding ineligible players rendered their match against Vietnam a dead rubber. As a result, the Vietnamese clinched passage to their third straight Asian Cup finals.

Syria and Singapore join the field and the identity of the last team will be known on June 4th. The match between Lebanon and Yemen was also postponed but no matter the result, the team that qualifies will be placed in Pot 4. The rest of the Pots are as follows:

Palestine are in Pot 3 and just as their participation in 2015, 2019, and 2023 they are guaranteed to face at least one Arab opponent. There is a distinct possibility that Palestine’s group opponents could mirror their WCQ Round 3 Group should they draw South Korea and Kuwait alongside Iraq, Jordan, or Oman from Pot 2.

Further details in regards to the exact time of the draw will be released closer to the date.