Pakistan to face Cambodia in preliminary round of FIFA Asia WC Qualifiers

Pakistan men’s football team will face Cambodia in the Preliminary Round One of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Asia Qualifiers.

The game’s apex body on Thursday, unveiled the draws for the first and second rounds of the qualifiers.

The first-round matches will be played on the basis of one home and one away match on October 12 and 17, with the 10 winners advancing to the second round.

Those 10 nations will then join the remaining 26 teams, already slotted in the second round on the basis of FIFA Rankings, which will feature nine groups of four nations, with the winners and runners-up then progressing through to the third round.

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? The first step on Asia's road to #WeAre26!

These 20 sides will face off for a place in the second round group stage of 2026 AFC #WCQ.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Vif9J5BbxH

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 27, 2023

A total of 18 nations that reach the third round will be divided into three groups of six, via a draw conducted at a later date, with the top two nations in each group qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.

The remaining six teams that finished third and fourth in the third round will then be divided into two groups of three teams for the fourth round, with the victor of each group earning a direct entry ticket to the FIFA World Cup.

Finally, in the fifth round, Asia’s representative in the FIFA play-off competition will be decided by a two-legged, home-and-away match between the two runners-up from the fourth round.

Notably, in the 2019 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Pakistan took on the same opponent and received a 1-4 thrashing.

It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan men’s football team recently partook in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship last month.

The national team was drawn in Group A with hosts India, invitee Kuwait and Nepal.

Pakistan received a 0-4 thrashing each from India and Kuwait respectively before Nepal edged them 1-0 in the dead rubber Group A clash.

Thus, the green shirts concluded their SAFF Championship without a win.

The race is on! ?

Asia is ready to begin the run for the finish line in Canada, Mexico and USA. ? #WCQ | #WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/hLGIqZ1xu9

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 27, 2023