The third and decisive round draw from the Asian qualifiers to the 2026 World Cup landed Saudi Arabia’s top soccer team in Group C and Fiery alongside Japan, Australia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia.
The draw took place on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, in the presence of Switzerland’s Gianni Infantino, president of the International Football Association, after the 18 teams qualified from the second round to six levels according to the latest rating issued by Viva, where Green came in at the third level.
The first group included Qatar, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea, while South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait came in group two.
Lakhdar Saudi Arabia reached the third and decisive round of the World Cup qualifiers after finishing second in Jordan’s Group G, and also included Tajikistan and Pakistan.
The third round will be played between September 2024 and June 2025, with the first elected in each group qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup scheduled for the United States, Canada and Mexico, reserving six of the eight seats available to the AFC, while the remaining two seats will be contested through the Asian qualifying supplement, knowing that there is a chance of an additional seat through the global playoff.
The United States of America, Canada and Mexico host the 23rd edition of the 2026 World Cup with 48 participants for the first time in history.
