The Asian Football Confederation announced on Friday that Saudi Arabia and Qatar will host the fourth round of Asia's 2026 World Cup preliminaries in October. Both nations have successfully advanced to the next stage of the continental qualifiers.
Joining Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the draw, scheduled for July 17, are Iraq, Oman, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. The decision to grant hosting rights to Saudi Arabia and Qatar follows Iraq's earlier confirmation of their bid to host a group.
The teams will be divided into two groups, each consisting of three nations. The winners of each group will secure a spot in the newly expanded 48-nation finals, alongside Japan, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, and Jordan.
The matches are scheduled to be played over three match days, spanning from October 8 to 14. The runners-up from each group will progress to a playoff in November. The victors of the playoff will then participate in an intercontinental playoff tournament in March to compete for the remaining two World Cup spots.
The six participating nations qualified for the fourth phase by securing either third or fourth place in their respective groups during the third round of qualifying, which concluded on Tuesday.
2 Comments
Stan Marsh
It’s hard to get excited about the World Cup when the hosts have such a poor track record on human rights.
Eric Cartman
Is this really about football, or are we just giving in to oil money again? This is concerning.