What the Socceroos need against Saudi Arabia to qualify for the World Cup
The Socceroos are so close they can almost taste it.
Automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is just 90 minutes away following the Socceroos' dramatic 1-0 victory over Japan in Perth.
However, the Socceroos first face the task of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning before they can book their spot on the plane.
Saudi Arabia is still in with a chance of upsetting Australia's hopes and stealing the final automatic qualification spot.
Here's what needs to happen for Australia to progress to their sixth-straight World Cup finals.
Simply put, a draw or a victory over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah will confirm the Socceroos' spot on the plane to North America.
The Green Eagles, in third spot, are three competition points behind second-placed Australia in Group C of this phase of qualifying.
With two teams from each of the three six-team groups progressing to North America next year, the Socceroos only have to equal Saudi Arabia to join group winners Japan at the showpiece 32-team tournament.
The Socceroos can still progress even if Saudi Arabia wins.
Due to the Socceroos' far superior goal difference, Saudi Arabia will need to win by a whopping five clear goals to leap-frog Australia to second spot.
Saudi Arabia has not beaten a team by this margin since they beat Palestine 5-0 in March 2021 and have not scored more than that since a 7-2 victory over Cambodia in January 2017.
Saudi Arabia has scored just six goals in this phase of qualifying, with only Bahrain (5) scoring fewer across all the teams in Asia in this phase of qualifying.
Things get mighty complicated if Australia can't hang on to second spot in the group.
The Socceroos cannot finish any lower than third or fourth, which will put them in the fourth phase of qualifying.
That means the Socceroos would be placed into a round-robin tournament in October, played at a centralised venue within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and featuring the other third- and fourth-placed teams from across the AFC in two groups of three.
That is likely to be the UAE and Qatar from Group A; and Oman, Iraq or Palestine from Group B — although those groups are still in flux.
The two group winners from each three-team group will progress to the 2026 World Cup.
If the Socceroos finish second in that group, there is still another chance to qualify through the intercontinental play-offs, but first they'd have to beat the other second-placed finisher from the other group in another two-legged match.
Then they'd need to finish in the top two of a six-team inter-confederation play-off tournament in the USA.
Last time around the Socceroos drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in Melbourne all the way back in November.
Incredibly, the Saudis had a last-gasp winner (correctly) ruled out for a narrow offside decision.
Saudi Arabia vs the Socceroos kicks off at 4:15am (AEST) on Wednesday morning in New South Wales, Queensland, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania.
That's 2:15am in Western Australia and 3:45am in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
This game is exclusive to Paramount+.
However, you can follow all the action as it unfolds in the ABC Sport live blog.
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