This World Cup will be participated by 36 countries from the previous 32 participants in the final round. This opens up opportunities for several countries to be able to taste their first World Cup. One that I follow is Asia. Asia will get more slots than usual, 8 countries + half that must go through the playoffs first. With this new format, of course several countries have very high motivation to be able to be in the 2026 World Cup. Asia itself is undergoing the 3rd qualifying round and still has several more matches left.