The Saudi national teams and Qatar have secured their participation in the 2026 World Cup after qualifying from the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Qatar hosted Group A, which included Oman and the UAE. The Qatari national team drew 0-0 with the Reds in the first round, then defeated the UAE 2-1 on Tuesday, qualifying for the 2026 World Cup for the second time in its history.
In Jeddah, the Saudi national team settled for a 0-0 draw with Iraq. Herve Renard’s team qualified for the World Cup on goal difference, having tied with the Lions of Mesopotamia on four points each. However, the Green Falcons’ goals scored outweighed Iraq’s 3-1.
This is the seventh time in history that the Saudi national team has qualified for the World Cup, making them the Arab team with the most World Cup qualifiers, tied with Morocco and Tunisia.
The UAE and Iraq still have a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, as they will play two home-and-away matches in November. The winner will advance to the global play-offs scheduled for next March.
It’s worth noting that with the qualification of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, seven Arab countries have now qualified for the World Cup: Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and the two Gulf countries.
