Australia secured their place at a sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup with a 2-1 comeback victory over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday, while a dramatic late penalty saw Oman keep their own qualification dreams alive at Palestine’s expense.
The Socceroos went into their final Group C match needing only to avoid a five-goal defeat to guarantee their spot at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. However, they fell behind in the 19th minute when Abdulrahman Al-Obud gave the home side a glimmer of hope. Australia responded decisively, with Connor Metcalfe equalising three minutes before halftime. Mitchell Duke then put the visitors in front early in the second half, glancing in a Martin Boyle free-kick in the 48th minute. Goalkeeper Mat Ryan, making his 100th appearance for his country, saved a late penalty from Salem Al-Dawsari to preserve the win.
The victory confirms Australia as the second-place finisher in Group C, behind Japan. Saudi Arabia finished third and will now proceed to a fourth phase of qualifiers in October.
“It is special. It probably hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Australia’s head coach, Tony Popovic, who was appointed last September. “It’s been a very intense period since I’ve joined. We’ve built a good foundation now, but we want to really get better, kick on and try and do something special at the World Cup.” Australia is oficially in FIFA World Cup 2026.
In a dramatic conclusion to Group B, Oman secured a fourth-round playoff spot with a 1-1 draw against Palestine in Jordan. Palestine took the lead in the 49th minute through a header by Oday Kharoub and looked set to advance, particularly after Oman’s Harib Al-Saadi received a second yellow card. However, in stoppage time, Muhsen Al-Ghassani was brought down in the penalty area, and Issam Al-Sabhi converted from the spot to eliminate the heartbroken Palestinians and keep Oman’s hopes alive.
Other AFC Qualifier Results:
Group C: Already-qualified group winners Japan crushed Indonesia 6-0 in Osaka, with Daichi Kamada scoring twice.9
Group A: Iran, who had already secured their World Cup berth in March, confirmed their position as group winners with a 3-0 victory over North Korea in Tehran.10 Already-qualified Uzbekistan finished second after a 3-0 win against Qatar.11 The United Arab Emirates claimed third place ahead of Qatar despite a 1-1 draw with Kyrgyzstan.
Group B: South Korea, who qualified last week, completed an unbeaten campaign by topping the group with a 4-0 thrashing of Kuwait.12 Jordan, who also secured their first-ever World Cup qualification last week, finished second despite a 1-0 home loss to Iraq.
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