Saudi Arabia's World Cup hopes hinge on a near-impossible task against Australia
A Saudi squad that has scored six goals through nine qualifying games needs to beat Australia by a five-goal margin to earn a direct spot at the 2026 World Cup.
Head coach Herve Renard knows it's an extremely unlikely outcome for his Saudi team, but he's urging his players to go all in Tuesday in the last game of the third round of Asian qualifying for next year's global tournament.
'The door is closed but we have to try to qualify even if it is through the window,' Renard said after his team's 2-0 win over Bahrain last week kept Saudi. 'Everything must go very well for us if we are to qualify; we have to score goals.'
Anything less than a five-goal deficit means Australia — in second spot in Group C — qualifies for a seventh World Cup. The last time the Socceroos lost by such a margin was in successive 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France in 2013. The Australians have scored 14 goals and conceded six through nine qualifiers.
After successive World Cup qualifications through the playoffs, Australia is close to securing a direct route but coach Tony Popovic is taking nothing for granted.
'We need to do a job in Saudi,' Popovic said. 'We're in a great position, but we need to finish it off.'
Popovic has only been in the job since September, stepping in after Graham Arnold resigned after collecting just one point in the group's first two qualification games.
'It's been a really intense period since I've come in but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do,' he said. 'And we're very close now to achieving our goal.'
Asia has been allocated eight places at the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The top two teams in each of the three groups in this round advance directly. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group go into another round vying for two more places.
Japan was the first to qualify and will top Group C regardless of the outcome between Australia and third-place Saudi Arabia. Iran and Uzbekistan have qualified from Group A, and South Korea and Jordan have qualified from Group B.
If Saudi Arabia fails to win by five, it will join United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq in the next stage of qualifying in October. Oman, meanwhile, is fourth in Group B, a point ahead of the Palestinian team in fifth place, with the two teams meeting in Amman on Tuesday.
'We still have everything to play for and we know what we have to do and that is to take all three points and continue our journey,' Palestinian coach Ihab Abujazar said.
For China, Kuwait, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain, the run to 2026 is already over.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Optimove Announces Opening of APAC Operations; Appoints Jack Wheeler to Lead the Region
New York, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optimove, the leader in Positionless Marketing and the #1 player engagement platform in iGaming, today announced that after more than two years of activity in the Asia-Pacific, it has opened operations in the region. iGaming veteran, Jack Wheeler, has been appointed the Head of APAC. Wheeler brings more than ten years of experience in enterprise sales, SaaS innovation, and iGaming. He most recently served as Co-Founder and COO of PRLY, a community-based SaaS platform for the sports and iGaming sectors. His prior roles include leadership positions at Salesforce, where he helped drive APAC initiatives, as well as advisory roles with iGaming syndicates and equity positions in multiple Asia-based iGaming start-ups. 'Jack brings an exceptional mix of entrepreneurial drive, enterprise experience, and regional expertise to Optimove,' said Motti Colman, VP of Revenue at Optimove. 'His deep understanding of both the iGaming and sports industries, paired with his proven ability to scale partnerships in APAC, makes him the ideal leader for our expansion in this fast-growing market.' As Head of APAC, Wheeler will focus on growing Optimove's presence among iGaming operators across the region. 'This is a pivotal moment for iGaming in APAC,' said Wheeler. 'The fast growth across the region, particularly in the Philippines and Malaysia, presents a major opportunity for brands to scale smarter, faster, and more profitably. Optimove's experience in helping operators grow across the globe will be a boon to APAC operators as they map out their strategy. Optimove's Positionless Marketing approach, and the fact that it is the number one engagement platform in iGaming, makes this especially exciting to me.' Optimove's APAC expansion comes in response to rising global demand for unified marketing platforms that combine data, automation, and personalization at scale. By enabling marketers to independently launch personalized, real-time campaigns, Optimove is transforming how iGaming operators grow player relationships and lifetime value. A key offering for the region is Optimove's Ignite+ program. The comprehensive program is designed to accelerate growth for emerging iGaming and sports betting operators. It offers exclusive access to Optimove's #1 Player Engagement Platform, along with expert CRM guidance, actionable insights, and proprietary industry benchmarks. Optimove Ignite+ empowers operators to enhance player engagement, improve marketing efficiency, and scale efficiently in a highly competitive market. In addition to being the APAC Lead, Jack Wheeler is a Senior Account Executive at Optimove. About Optimove Optimove, the leader in Positionless Marketing, frees marketing teams from the limitations of fixed roles, giving every marketer the power to execute any marketing task instantly and independently. Positionless Marketing has been proven to improve campaign efficiency by 88%, allowing marketing teams to create more personalized engagement with existing customers. Recognized as the Visionary Leader in Gartner's 2024 Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Marketing Hubs. Being a visionary leader is a hallmark of Optimove. It was the first CRM Marketing Platform to natively embed AI with the ability to predict customer migrations between lifecycle stages in 2012. Today, its comprehensive AI-powered suite is at the leading edge of empowering marketers to optimize workflows from Insight to Creation and through Orchestration. Optimove provides industry-specific and use-case solutions for leading consumer brands globally. For more information, go to Rob Wyse Optimove +2129201470 [email protected] Olivia Arruda Optimove +8585881053 [email protected] Mike Paluszek Optimove 9175539332 [email protected]
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Proteas dig in at Lord's, Cummins makes breakthrough
South Africa have made the most of perfect batting conditions at Lord's to reduce Australia's lead to 91 in the World Test Championship final. Starting day two in serious trouble at 4-43, the Proteas were able to frustrate Australia's star-studded bowling attack and move to 5-121 at lunch on day two. Australia, boosted by Beau Webster's 72 and a 66 from Steve Smith, posted 212 on Wednesday after being sent in to bat. With the sun shining from ball one on Thursday, unlike day one when it was overcast until the afternoon, South Africa batted sensibly and attempted to keep the scoreboard moving. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision, allowing him to make important inroads into Australia's lead. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. The ball would have been smashing into the stumps, but a spike on snicko incredibly meant Bavuma had survived. Former England captain Alastair Cook said during radio commentary he didn't believe Bavuma had hit it. But after looking promising, highlighted by smashing opposing captain Pat Cummins for six, Bavuma (36) scooped a drive to cover where Marnus Labuschagne pulled off a terrific diving catch. A stunning catch from Marnus Labuschagne to remove Temba Bavuma in the #WTC25 Final 😲Watch 👉 — ICC (@ICC) June 12, 2025 Cummins (2-24) got the crucial breakthrough, gaining revenge for being the first bowler in the match to be hit over the rope. Australia have managed to produce several edges, but none have carried completely to the slips cordon. No.6 David Bedingham (39*) has looked steady at the crease, and will resume with dangerous wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne (11*) after lunch. South Africa, who won seven-straight Tests to qualify for the final, are attempting to break a title drought in ICC tournaments dating back to 1998. This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.


Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
The Price of Football w/Kieran Maguire: Macro Matters
This week we're talking the economics and finances of the world's game with professor, author, and podcaster Kieran Maguire of Liverpool University. We apologize in advance for those who thought this show was about gridiron football, but with the Club World Cup beginning June 14, we thought it would be interesting to discuss football/soccer finance and some economic implications of the 2026 World Cup in North America. Professor Maguire joins Macro Matters hosts Ira Jersey, Bloomberg Intelligence chief US rates strategist, and Business of Sports co-host and EM Lens host Damian Sassower, chief emerging market fixed income strategist. The group discusses football club valuations, the economic benefits (or pitfalls) of hosting the World Cup, and how clubs used debt to finance player transfers and club operations.