Myanmar to play Asian Cup 2027 third round qualifiers

The Myanmar national team has been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup Asian zone second-round qualifiers but will continue to compete in the 2027 Asian Cup third-round qualifiers.
According to the format of the second qualifying round, the top two teams with the most points in the nine groups will qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers and continue to play in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup Asia Zone, while the two teams with the lowest points will continue to play in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
Therefore, the Myanmar team will not be allowed to play in the World Cup qualifiers, but still have a chance to play in the third stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers as they have only one point in five matches with one game left to play.
The Asian Football Confederation will host the final stage of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup with a total of 24 teams, and the two teams with the most points from each group in second-round qualifiers will qualify directly, with a total of 18 teams directly qualifying, so only six teams will emerge from the third round qualifiers.
The third qualifying round will be held from March 2025 to March 2026, and the 18 teams that will be allowed to play in second-round qualifiers and six teams from first-round qualifiers will have to play in the play-off.
The 2027 Asian Cup third- round qualifiers will be held in four groups of six teams, and only the top team from each group will qualify. The Myanmar team also dropped out of the third qualifying round in the 2023 Asian Cup. — Ko Nyi Lay/KZL