2026 World Cup qualifiers draw, third spherical teams for Asia, Australia faces Japan and Saudi Arabia once more, newest information
Australia has certified for a troublesome group for the following stage of 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The Australian crew might want to end above at the very least one crew from Japan or Saudi Arabia to ensure a spot in the USA, Canada and Mexico within the event.
It’s a repeat of the 2022 qualifiers when Australia completed third within the group with each international locations, and needed to qualify by the continental qualifiers as a substitute, which ended on penalties.
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Graham Arnold’s aspect can even face Bahrain, China and Indonesia because the three lowest-ranked international locations within the third spherical of the Asian qualifiers.
Japan, Saudi Arabia and China have been essentially the most tough international locations for Australians to extract from their pots. Particularly, the Saudis have been the clear risk in a pot that additionally included Uzbekistan and Jordan.
The highest two groups in every group of six will qualify on to the World Cup.
The third and fourth-placed groups in every group will advance to the fourth spherical, the place two different groups will qualify, adopted by a fifth spherical for a spot within the continental playoff.
Which means Australia’s failure to qualify can be an absolute catastrophe, however their probabilities of qualifying out of this third spherical would have been increased in both of the opposite two teams.
In complete, eight groups secured qualification from Asia, in addition to a possible ninth place through the continental qualifiers.
The primary qualifying matches might be held subsequent September 5, when Australia will host Bahrain.
The Australian nationwide crew will have the ability to qualify for the World Cup in March 2025, with the ultimate matches being held in early June 2025.
teams
Group A: Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea
The second group: South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait
Group Three: Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia
FIFA World Cup qualifiers third spherical
One crew from every pot is positioned in every group
Pot 1: Japan (FIFA rating 17), Iran (20), South Korea (22)
Pot 2: Australia (23), Qatar (35), Iraq (55)
Pot 3: Saudi Arabia (56), Uzbekistan (62), Jordan (68)
Pot 4: UAE (69), Oman (76), Bahrain (81)
Pot 5: China (88), Palestine (95), Kyrgyzstan (101)
Pot 6: North Korea (110), Indonesia (134), Kuwait (137)
