[1] A total of twenty teams were drawn into ten home-and-away ties, the winners of which advanced to the second round.

The schedule was as follows:[1] The draw for the first round was held on 27 July 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The numbers in parentheses indicate the FIFA Men's World Ranking of July 2023.

As originally planned, the top-ranked losing team would progress directly to the third round of Asian Cup qualifying, while the remainder would join the Northern Mariana Islands in the play-off round.

[7][8] However, Guam withdrew and the Northern Mariana Islands were not included in the draw for the play-off round announced on 1 May 2024.