The full schedule of the Chinese national football team's World Cup qualifiers for the top 18 has been announced! The first match against Japan will be on September 5
The top 18 matches will start in September, with the Chinese team playing away against Japan in the first round
On June 27, the draw ceremony for the 2026 Mexico City World Cup Asian qualifiers was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Chinese national men's football team was placed in Group C with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Indonesia and other teams.
The top 18 matches in this stage are divided into three groups, with a total of 10 rounds of matches. They will be played in a home and away double round-robin format from September 2024 to June 2025. The top two teams in each group will directly advance to the 2026 World Cup finals, and the third and fourth teams will participate in the fourth stage. The six teams in the fourth stage will be divided into two groups for a single round-robin match. The first teams of the two groups will directly advance to the 2026 World Cup, and the two second-place teams will be determined through a play-off. The winner will represent Asia in the World Cup intercontinental play-offs.
Round 1: September 5, 2024 Japan vs. China
Second round: September 10, 2024 China vs Saudi Arabia
Round 3: October 10, 2024 Australia vs China
Round 4: October 15, 2024 China vs. Indonesia
![The full schedule of the Chinese national football team's World Cup qualifiers for the top 18 has been announced! The first match against Japan will be on September 5](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/d14dbae160bb7eadae20b3532ea04c8f.webp)
Round 5: November 14, 2024 Bahrain vs. China
Round 6: China vs. Japan on November 19, 2024
Round 7: March 20, 2025 Saudi Arabia vs China
Round 8: March 25, 2025 China vs Australia
Round 9: June 5, 2025 Indonesia vs. China
Round 10: June 10, 2025 China vs. Bahrain
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. There will be 48 teams participating in the final stage, the largest number of participating teams in the history of the World Cup.
![The full schedule of the Chinese national football team's World Cup qualifiers for the top 18 has been announced! The first match against Japan will be on September 5](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/0d39c174cf9867c542cdc8e1bd3a6390.webp)
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