The play-off round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification was played between 5 and 10 September 2024.
Format
When the play-off round was originally announced, a total of ten teams (the 2nd to 10th ranked losing teams from the first round plus the Northern Mariana Islands) would play home-and-away over two legs to determine the final five qualifiers for the third round. However, Guam withdrew and the Northern Mariana Islands were not included in the draw for the play-off round announced on 1 May 2024. This resulted in the top three losing teams (Bhutan, Maldives, and Laos) moving directly to the third round, and the remaining six teams entering the play-offs. The play-off winners joined the 21 teams which advanced directly to the third round (three best ranked losing teams from the first round and 18 teams from the second round) to compete for the final six slots in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Qualified teams
The teams participating in this round were decided by their ranking from the preliminary round.
- Cambodia
- Sri Lanka
- Macau
- Mongolia
- Timor-Leste
- Brunei
Draw
The draw for the play-off round was held on 9 May 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These six teams were divided into three pairings, with each pair playing home and away between 5 and 10 September 2024. The numbers in parentheses indicate the FIFA Men's World Ranking of April 2024. The team from Pot 2 hosted the first leg, and the team from Pot 1 hosted the second leg.
Summary
The three winners advanced to the third round of qualifying.
Matches
2–2 on aggregate. Sri Lanka won 4–2 on penalties.
East Timor won 4–3 on aggregate.
Brunei won 4–0 on aggregate.
Goalscorers
There were 15 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per match.
3 goals
1 goal
Notes
References
