Khaberni - The Arabs will reserve at least one ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals, with the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers taking place between October 8 and 14.
After the qualification of six teams so far, including Jordan for the first time in history, six other teams will compete in the fourth round, or group stage in the Asian qualifiers' playoff, in Doha and Jeddah.
The matches will be played in a single-round league system, where Qatar, UAE, and Oman will form the first group in Doha, and Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Indonesia the second in Jeddah.
The champion of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the second-placed teams will face each other in a fifth stage in November, qualifying for the global playoff.
The runner-up in each group will get one last chance, through a decider held as home-and-away matches on November 13 and 18, to determine the team representing Asia in the global playoff, where it will face teams from other continents to compete for one of the two additional qualifying slots.
The Oman national team enters this stage aiming for a history-making first World Cup qualification, while Indonesia, Iraq, and the UAE strive for their second qualification, whereas Qatar and Saudi Arabia look forward to their second consecutive participation.
- Lopetegui Feels Concerned -
This round begins on Wednesday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium with a match between Qatar (ranked 53 globally) and Oman (78).
Qatar, the champion of Asia in the last two editions, aims for a strong start on its home ground in its eleventh attempt, after a first participation in 2022 as the host nation when it exited early from the first round.
But the Spanish coach of "Al-Annabi", Julen Lopetegui, who keeps the list and training of Qatar confidential, feels "concerned, we suffer from injuries, we hope some players regain their readiness before facing the decisive matches, and we aim to be fully prepared."
Lopetegui was hired by the Qatari federation two rounds before the end of third-round qualifiers, where he won against Iran 1-0 and lost to Uzbekistan 0-3, ensuring the playoff.
However, the man coming after being sacked from West Ham United achieved unconvincing results in preparatory friendlies before the fourth stage, losing against Lebanon 0-1 and against Russia 1-4, and drawing with Bahrain 2-2.
Qatar's all-time top scorer Almoez Ali is not in the best possible readiness after just returning from an injury that sidelined him for two months; he appeared as a substitute in two matches but seemed far from his usual level.
After three days, the UAE national team (67) begins its journey by facing Oman, repeating their last encounter in the Gulf Cup in December 2024, which ended 1-1. The White team, bolstered by a large number of naturalized players, hopes to reach the finals for the second time after 1990.
- Saudi Arabia to Compensate for Third Round Failure -
In the second group at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (59) meets Indonesia (119), the only team that started its journey from the first round and continued to advance, with its only participation in the finals in 1938 under the name Dutch East Indies.
In the previous round, the teams met twice, tying the first leg 1-1 before Indonesia, under Dutch coach Patrick Kluivert, achieved its first historical win in the return leg 2-0.
Saudi Arabia, under its French coach Hervé Renard, who replaced the dismissed Italian Roberto Mancini last year, aims for its third consecutive and seventh historic qualification, trying to make up for its journey in the third round when it finished third, ten points behind Japan, the leader!
Three days later, the Iraq national team (58) plays its first match against Indonesia, dreaming of its second qualification since the 1986 edition. The Iraqi national team has a notable record in its encounters with Indonesia, having won the last eight matches between them, including two encounters in the current qualifiers' second round.
The group stage concludes on October 14 with two exciting matches, where Qatar meets UAE while Saudi Arabia faces Iraq.
