The Asian Football Confederation was allocated two assured qualifying berths for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

26 teams were in the running for these spots; Bahrain, India, Maldives and South Yemen withdrew without playing a qualifying match.

Asia's two automatic qualifying berths were taken by Korea Republic and the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates advanced to the final round.

Korea Republic and the United Arab Emirates qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.