Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates push to qualify for the 2026 World Cup: AFC standings, upcoming fixtures, story so far

Six nations have made the 2026 World Cup from the first three rounds of AFC qualifying, and six more countries continue to battle in the fourth round for a chance at reaching next summer's tournament.

Iran, South Korea and Japan all topped their third round groups to qualify, while Australia, along with World Cup debutants Uzbekistan and Jordan, have secured a place in the finals after finishing second.

The six teams that ended the last round third and fourth in their respective groups have proceeded to the fourth round of the process, split into two groups of three.

Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates make up group A, while Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia comprise group B, and the nations that finish first will qualify for the World Cup, while the runners-up will be entered into a two-legged tie to determine which side will represent AFC in an inter-confederation playoff for the final spot.

While one team in each group have already played twice in the round, the race for direct qualification remains wide open in both brackets.

Indonesia are already out of contention after suffering back-to-back defeats, meaning top spot will be determined when Saudi Arabia and Iraq face off at King Abdullah Sport City on Tuesday, with the loser settling for a runners-up spot and a chance to reach the inter-confederation playoff.

Meanwhile, Oman, after managing just one draw from two matches — against Qatar — can only hope for second place in Group A.

However, they will be counting on the UAE to defeat the Maroons at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on October 14 to keep their chances alive for the two-legged decider that will determine AFC’s representative in the final qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the state of play in AFC World Cup qualifying as the fourth round continues.

Group A standings:

1. United Arab Emirates - 3pts (P1 W1 D0 L0 GD +1)

2. Qatar - 1pt (P1 W0 D1 L0 GD 0)

3. Oman - 1pt (P2 W0 D1 L1 GD -1)

STORY OF GROUP A

Oman won three, drew two and lost five of their games in round three, leaving them fourth in the group and entering them into this stage.

Al-Ahmar have never played in the World Cup finals, and the team will see the fourth round as a serious chance to achieve historic success given the competition they face, but their stalemate against Qatar on the opening matchday could be considered two points dropped.

Qatar are aiming to feature in back-to-back World Cups after hosting the 2022 edition of the tournament, but following their draw with Oman, they may have squandered their best chance of a win.

The Maroons are led by former Spain, Real Madrid and West Ham United boss Julen Lopetegui, and they reached the fourth round by finishing fourth in group A during the third round - winning four, drawing one and losing five of their 10 games.

As for United Arab Emirates, they are hoping to reach their first World Cup since the iconic 1990 finals in Italy and are already in the driving seat to achieve that after a 2-1 victory over Oman in their first game of the fourth round.

Al Abyad finished third in their group to make this stage, and with four wins, three draws and three losses in the third round, they ended two points ahead of Qatar.

Group B standings:

1. Saudi Arabia - 3pts (P1 W1 D0 L0 GD +1)

2. Iraq - 3pts (P1 W1 D0 L0 GD +1)

3. Indonesia - 0pts (P2 W0 D0 L2 GD -2)

STORY OF GROUP B

Saudi Arabia are the favourites to top group B, though they only managed to finish one point above Indonesia in the third round after a run of three wins, four draws and three losses.

The Green Falcons have qualified for six of the last eight World Cups, and made a victorious start to the fourth round with a 1-0 triumph over Patrick Kluivert's side.

The 2026 World Cup will mark the 40th anniversary of Iraq's most recent finals appearance, and they begin their quest to qualify from group B against Indonesia on October 11.

The Lions of Mesopotamia narrowly missed out on automatic qualification in the third round, finishing one point behind second-placed Jordan after four wins, three draws and three defeats.

Finally, Indonesia reached the fourth round as rivals to the Green Falcons - winning three, drawing three and losing four of their third round games - and finished fourth in their group.

However, having lost both games in the fourth round, the Red and Whites are out of contention, meaning a maiden appearance at the World Cup as an independent nation will have to wait for the future.

UPCOMING FIXTURES

United Arab Emirates will face Qatar on October 14, while Iraq square off with Saudi Arabia on the same day, with both encounters expected to shape the standings in their respective groups.

The fifth round is scheduled to commence next month, on November 13, to decide which of the runners-up will progress to the inter-confederation playoff.