Latest news with #AFCQualifiers
Al Jazeera
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Qatar and Saudi Arabia find out AFC qualifying fate for 2026 FIFA World Cup
The draw for the fourth round of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has revealed the fate of the final six teams from the continent vying for a place at next summer's 48-team expanded edition. Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the back-to-back AFC Cup winners, had already secured home advantage for the next round of qualifiers before Thursday's draw, which was made at AFC House, the headquarters of the football governing body on the continent, in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at what comes next for the AFC nations that remain part of the qualifying process. Which AFC teams can still qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, and Oman all missed out on qualification from the third round of AFC qualifiers but have progressed to the latest stage. How do the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup work? Two more AFC teams will directly join the six that had already qualified in the third round for the World Cup. One intercontinental playoffs spot will still be available beyond the fourth round of qualifiers. How will the fourth round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup work? Two round-robin groups will result in the top team from each taking Asia's last two remaining automatic spots. What is the draw for the AFC fourth round of qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup? Qatar will host Group A, which also contains the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Saudi Arabia welcomes Iraq and Indonesia into Group B. When will the fourth round of AFC qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup be played? Saudi Arabia, who are attempting to qualify for a seventh World Cup finals since 1994, will host Group A and open against Indonesia on October 8. Indonesia will then play Graham Arnold's Iraq on October 11 before the Saudis and Iraq face-off on October 14. Group B is hosted by Qatar, organisers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but who have never qualified for the finals. They will take on Oman in their first game on October 8. UAE will face the Omanis on October 11, with Qatar and the UAE meeting on October 14. How do the Intercontinental qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup work? The teams that finish second in the round-robin groups in the fourth round of AFC qualifiers will meet in a playoff over two legs, home and away, in November. The winner of that match progresses to intercontinental playoffs for the final 2026 FIFA World Cup place, which are scheduled for March 2026. Which teams have confirmed their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Six teams from Asia secured qualification last month from the third round of qualifiers by finishing in the top two of the three groups at that stage. Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia have all participated numerous times, while Jordan and Uzbekistan will be making their first appearance. When will all teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup be confirmed? The European qualification rounds will not be completed until March, with the intercontinental playoff final scheduled for March 31. As a result, we will not know the final 48 teams for the World Cup until less than three months before the tournament. Where will the FIFA World Cup games be in 2026? The United States, Canada and Mexico are jointly hosting the next edition of FIFA's showpiece international event. When is the 2026 FIFA World Cup scheduled? The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11 and ends with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
Al Jazeera
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Qatar and Saudi Arabia to host AFC 2026 World Cup playoffs
Qatar and Saudi Arabia will host the Asian qualifying playoffs for the 2026 World Cup, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have confirmed. Six teams, the third and fourth-placed sides from the recent Asian third round of qualifying, will be divided into two groups of three teams. They will battle each other in a centralised format from October 8 to 14, 2025, the AFC said in a statement on Friday. The group winners will secure the two remaining automatic berths at the World Cup. The runners-up from each group will play two matches on November 13 and 18, with the winners qualifying for the inter-confederation playoffs, through which they could win a spot at the World Cup. The draw for the next, and final, round of qualifying in Asia is scheduled for July 17. The venues for each of the matches will be confirmed thereafter. The third round of qualifying constituted three groups of six, with the top two teams from each group automatically qualifying for the World Cup, filling six of the AFC's eight slots at the 2026 edition of world football's showpiece event. The third- and fourth-placed teams from each group progressed to the final round of the AFC qualifiers, hoping to win one of the rapidly dwindling spots at the World Cup finals. The bottom two teams from each of those groups were eliminated – Palestine being the last side to see their hopes of progressing ended when they were defeated by a late penalty for Oman, who claimed fourth spot in Group B as a result. It was the furthest Palestine had reached in their attempts to qualify for a World Cup. Japan were the first team to secure their place at the tournament, which is to be hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, when they swept through Group C. Australia, in the same group, claimed their place in second spot with a final day win against Saudi Arabia, who could have leapt above the Socceroos with a win. Jordan and Uzbekistan both finished second in their groups, behind South Korea and Iraq respectively, sealing their first appearances at at World Cup. Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the six teams still in with a chance of reaching the World Cup finals. AFC Asian Cup champions, and hosts of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar endured a mixed campaign to finish fourth in Group A, with UAE claiming third. Indonesia, hoping for only a second appearance at the World Cup finals, secured the fourth spot in Group C, seeing off a late charge from China, who missed out on qualification for the next stage alongside Bahrain. Saudi Arabia finished third in that group. Iraq and Oman finished third and fourth, respectively, in Group B. The next edition of the Asian Cup will be played in 2027. Saudi Arabia, which will also host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, has been named the host nation. The first round of AFC qualifying for the tournament began in October 2023, and saw 20 teams (ranked 27 to 46) playing home and away playoffs, with the 10 winners progressing. The second round saw the teams ranked 1-26 join the qualification process, with the 36 teams split into nine groups. The round was played across 2023 and 2024. The winners and runners-up of the nine groups progressed not only to the 2027 Asian Cup, but also to the AFC World Cup qualifying groups. A third round of qualifiers is currently in progress to find out who will line up at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, alongside the 18 teams that have just completed the AFC qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Australian
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
Football: Tony Popovic demands best from Socceroos
Socceroos captain Mat Ryan says the 'passion' of Australia's coach Tony Popovic will continue to inspire the national team ahead of next year's FIFA World Cup. The Socceroos only need to avoid a five-goal defeat in Wednesday morning's clash against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah to guarantee themselves qualification for a sixth successive World Cup. Popovic's appointment last September came at a difficult time for the Socceroos, who had made a poor start to the third round of AFC World Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 loss to Bahrain and a 0-0 draw with Indonesia. It led to the departure of long-time coach Graham Arnold, with Popovic given the task of getting the Socceroos' qualifying campaign back on track. The new coach, who played for the Socceroos at the 2006 World Cup, made an immediate impression on experienced goalkeeper Ryan, who was set to make his 100th appearance for the national team on Wednesday. Tony Popovic's 'passion' for the Socceroos has been recognised by his players. Picture:'I remember when they appointed him and watching his first press conference and interviews,' Ryan said. 'There was a few questions thrown at him about it being not the greatest time to be taking over as Socceroos head coach because of the circumstances we were in. 'We didn't start off the group in the best possible way and were perhaps behind the eight-ball. 'From memory of him answering the question, he said … 'Every moment to take over the national team, especially the Australian national team, is a great moment. I'm not buying into any of that. It's an honour. It's a privilege to be here, and I can't wait to get to work'. 'From that moment, I (thought) 'he's someone that's super passionate about not only football but Australian football', and it's just been on repeat since he's been in here. 'He demands the absolute maximum from each and every one of us, and that's exactly how it should be.' Ryan said Arnold and Ange Postecoglou had shown similar passion when they coached the Socceroos, as opposed to the tenures of the other two full-time coaches who had guided him at national team level – German mentor Holger Osieck and Dutchman Bert van Marwijk. 'With every manager we've had here in the national team, it's fair to say the Australian managers more than the foreign managers (have) got that extra special relationship with the jersey,' he said. 'Ange (and) 'Arnie' were also obviously very passionate about the national team, and that was portrayed through their actions and their words and speeches.' Read related topics: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Ex-Socceroos coach Graham Arnold ‘proud' of his Iraq team following win over Jordan
Former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has secured his first win as Iraq coach with a 1-0 away victory over Jordan in Amman. While Wednesday morning's success wasn't enough for Iraq to secure FIFA World Cup qualification, Arnold's men will have another chance to book a berth in next year's tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada when they compete in the fourth round of AFC qualifiers in October. 'I'm proud of the team,' Arnold said after the win, which came less than a week after Iraq suffered a 2-0 home loss to South Korea in his first game in charge of the Lions of Mesopotamia. 'It was a crazy week, but it ended well. We rested four players to avoid suspension and will now focus on the (fourth round). 'My message to Iraqi fans – believe in us, we will reach the 2026 World Cup.' The final Group B table after tonight's victory - onto the Fourth Round we go in October! ðŸ¦�🇮🇶 #AsianQualifiers #RoadTo2026 — Iraq National Team (@IraqNT_EN) June 10, 2025 The fourth round of qualifiers features the nations that finished third and fourth in the three third-round groups. Joining Iraq will be the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Indonesia. The six nations will be split into two groups of three, with the top team from each group to advance to the World Cup. The teams that finished second in each group will play each other for the AFC's spot in the six-nation inter-confederation playoffs, from which two teams will secure World Cup qualification.
Al Jazeera
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Palestine World Cup dream ends after late penalty heartbreak against Oman
Palestine's historic Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was ended by a late Oman penalty in a 1-1 draw in their final group game. Needing a win to reach the fourth round of the AFC qualifiers, Palestine led deep into five minutes of injury time through Oday Kharoub's goal early in the second half. The scoreline would have been enough to propel Palestine past Oman into the fourth and final qualifying spot in Group B of the third round of the AFC qualifiers – a stage they had also reached for the first time. However, a tug of the shirt on a runner chasing a free kick from the deep was spotted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), and Palestine's dream of a first appearance at a football World Cup ended with Essam Al-Subhi's spot kick in the 97th minute of the match. Kharoub's headed goal came after a fine first half for Palestine, in which Michel Termanini struck the bar with a header. Wessam Ali had a second for Palestine ruled out for a marginal offside, only moments after Oman's Harib Al-Saadi saw red for a second yellow following a foul on Hamed Hamdan in the 73rd minute. The decisive moment came, though, when Muhsen Al-Ghassani ran clear in the box in an attempt to reach a looped ball in the area. Ahmed Taha's grab at the runner was deemed illegal and the eliminating kick was awarded against Palestine. The run to the third round of the AFC qualifiers for the first time followed Palestine's historic feat of reaching the knockout stages of the last AFC Asian Cup for the first time. A first appearance at football's global showpiece was only one more match away until the late drama at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan, where Palestine were forced to stage their home matches due to Israel's war on Gaza. The full-time whistle, and with it, anticipated scenes of wild celebration was cruelly only seconds away for Palestine. Instead, the tension that was palpably building ahead of the referee calling an end to the match turned to scenes of despair as tears rolled down the cheeks of the Palestine players, many of whom collapsed to the floor in disbelief. Oman now join Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Indonesia, who lost 6-0 to Japan earlier in the day, in the fourth round of qualifiers, from which two teams will join the already six qualified nations from the third round of qualifiers. One final chance will be available for the third-placed team from the fourth round of qualifiers, as that nation will progress to the FIFA Intercontinental Playoffs in a last-chance saloon to line up at next year's finals. Australia became the final team to confirm their automatic qualification from the third round of qualifiers when they saw off Saudi Arabia's challenge for second spot in Group C with a 2-1 win in Jeddah. Alongside Australia – Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Jordan, finished as the top two finishers in their group to book their places at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The latter two qualified for a World Cup for the first time.
