Australia has officially secured its place at the 2026 World Cup, set to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A crucial 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday ensured the Socceroos grabbed the second automatic qualification spot in Group C, just behind group leaders Japan.
Heading into the final day of the third-round qualifiers, Australia were already in a strong position. They confirmed their advancement thanks to first-half and early second-half goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitch Duke. Metcalfe equalized just before halftime after Saudi Arabia opened the scoring through Abdulrahman Al-Aboud. Minutes into the second half, Duke headed home from close range following a well-placed cross by Martin Boyle.
Saudi Arabia, coached by Hervé Renard, needed a huge win to leapfrog Australia but fell short. Despite a late penalty opportunity to salvage the game, Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan denied Salem Al-Dawsari, locking in a hard-fought victory for the Socceroos and confirming their sixth consecutive World Cup appearance.
Coach Tony Popovic praised his team’s resilience and ambition, saying the group is ready to build on this momentum and aim for a strong showing on the world stage.
Meanwhile, heartbreak struck the Palestinian team in Group B. Playing their home games at a neutral venue in Amman, Palestine took the lead early in the second half with a header from Oday Kharoub. Oman, who had gone down to 10 men in the 73rd minute after Harib Al-Saadi received a second yellow card, mounted a late comeback. Deep into stoppage time, Issam Al-Sabhi converted a penalty, ending the game 1-1 and knocking Palestine out of contention. Oman now advances to the next qualification phase.
Under the current format, the top two teams from each group qualify directly, while third and fourth-placed teams progress to the fourth round. That round will take place in October and consists of two groups of three teams, with only two spots left for the final tournament.
Oman will now join the likes of UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia in the fourth round, fighting for one of those last two World Cup slots.
Elsewhere, Japan and South Korea wrapped up their campaigns with dominant wins. Japan hammered Indonesia 6-0 in Osaka, with Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada scoring twice. Other goals came from Kubo, Morishita, Machino, and substitute Hosoya. Indonesia finished fourth in Group C.
South Korea comfortably beat Kuwait 4-0 in Seoul. PSG’s Lee Kang-in was among the scorers, joined by Jeon Jin-woo, Oh Hyeon-gyu of Genk, and Lee Jae-sung from Germany’s Mainz. Tottenham’s Son Heung-min made a late appearance, continuing his recovery from injury.
In Group A, Iran and Uzbekistan have already booked their tickets to the World Cup. Jordan and South Korea have done the same in Group B. Iraq rounded out their campaign with a 1-0 win over Jordan, finishing third and moving on to the next qualification stage.
The road to the 2026 World Cup is heating up, with just a few more matches to determine who gets the last remaining spots.
By Yockshard Enyendi