Australia joins Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan as FIFA World Cup finals qualifiers
The Socceroos secured their place with a gritty 2-1 victory over Asian powerhouse Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. The win meant they finished second in Group C to Japan, which earlier crushed Indonesia 6-0 to win Group C.
"Now, [we] see the real level of a top team, a top country, and [see that we] need to improve," Indonesia's coach Patrick Kluivert said after the game. "It was a big learning moment although we're very disappointed with the result.''
Iran was confirmed as Group A winner with a 3-0 win over North Korea that came after Kye Tam was sent off for the visitors with 24 minutes remaining in Tehran. Mehdi Mohebi, Mehdi Taremi and Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh were all on target in the last 16 minutes to guarantee first place for the Iranians, who had secured their berth in March.
The Socceroos togetherness could see them do something special at the World Cup. ( AP Photo )
Already-qualified Uzbekistan took second spot with a 3-0 win against Qatar in Tashkent while the United Arab Emirates claimed third ahead of the Qataris despite conceding a late goal to draw 1-1 with Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
Uzbekistan is the first nation from Central Asia to qualify for the World Cup finals and was a likely contender to step up and gain qualification after narrowly missing out in 2006 and 2014.
While most of its team plays in the domestic league, it includes a few Europe-based stars like Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov and Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
South Korea completed its commitments in Group B with a 4-0 thrashing of Kuwait to ensure Hong Myung-bo's World Cup-bound outfit topped the standings with an unbeaten record. Jordan, which qualified for its first World Cup, finished second in Group B despite losing 1-0 to former Australian coach Graham Arnold's Iraq in Amman.
Uzbekistan has qualified for its first FIFA World Cup finals. ( Reuters: Maxim Shemetov )
Will any other Asian nations qualify?
Yes. The beaten Saudis feature in a fourth phase of qualifiers in October alongside Indonesia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Oman.
These six teams will be split into two groups of three, with the winners of each group qualifying for the finals.
Saudi Arabia would be favourites to qualify, given its pedigree at World Cups, including a famous win against eventual winner Argentina in 2022.
The two sides which finish as runners-up will then play off against each other in a two-legged final. The winner of that match up will advance to a play-off tournament.
That tournament will feature six teams, two from Concacaf (North and Central America) and one team apiece from Asia, Africa, South America and Oceania.
The two highest-ranked teams will go directly into the finals.
The four lowest-ranked nations will then meet in semi-finals with the two winners going through to the World Cup.
Indonesia coach Patrick Kluivert says his team has plenty to learn after its 6-0 drubbing by Japan. ( Reuters: Issei Kato )
Who else has already qualified?
The 2026 World Cup finals will be hosted across three nations: Canada, Mexico and the United States. As hosts, these three automatically qualify. Apart from the six Asian nations, Argentina and New Zealand are the only other confirmed qualifiers so far.
What happens next?
European qualifying matches only began in March this year, so we won't know who has qualified until March 2026. The 54 nations are divided into 12 groups, with all group winners automatically qualifying. Another four qualifiers will be decided in a play-off between the second-placed teams and four best-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners.
In South America, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil are best-placed for automatic qualification with Colombia and Venezuela battling for the sixth spot. The seventh-placed team will go into the play off tournament.
We won't know who will qualify from Africa until later this year. There are 54 teams in nine groups with the top team from each group qualifying. The four best runners-up go to play-off semifinals.
Central America and the Caribbean qualifiers are in the process of deciding the final 12 teams which will be divided into three groups of four teams. The three group winners will qualify directly. Two other teams will enter the play off tournament.
With New Zealand securing direct qualification in March, Oceania runners-up New Caledonia gets a second chance when it enters the play-off tournament.
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