Saudi Arabia and Qatar gain home advantage in next Asia qualifiers for 2026 World Cup

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Saudi Arabia and Qatar drew home advantage in the fourth round of Asia qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday.

In October, Qatar will host Group A that also contains the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Saudi Arabia welcomes Iraq and Indonesia into Group B.

The winner of each round-robin group will take Asia’s last two remaining automatic spots at next summer’s tournament, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The teams that finish second will then meet, with the winner progressing to inter-confederation playoffs, which are scheduled for March 2026.

Six teams from Asia secured qualification last month: Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia have all participated numerous times, while Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their first appearance.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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