KUALA LUMPUR: “Japan & Australia Set for Tough World Cup Qualifying Battle”, Japan, Australia, and Saudi Arabia were drawn together on Thursday in what is being dubbed as a “group of death” for the third stage of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. This challenging group also includes China, promising intense competition and high stakes as these footballing nations vie for a coveted spot in the prestigious tournament.
The 18 remaining Asian teams battling it out for eight direct qualification places were drawn into three groups of six at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
Son Heung-min’s South Korea were given a more straightforward-looking assignment when they were drawn to face Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait in Group B.
Iran and Asian Cup champions Qatar head Group A and will play Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.
Matches will be played on a home-and-away basis from this September to June 2025, with the top two in each group qualifying directly for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Teams finishing third and fourth in their groups will advance to the fourth round of Asian qualifying.
Hajime Moriyasu, whose Japan side beat Spain and Germany to reach the knockout rounds of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, called Group C “a tough group”.
Indonesia – in the third qualifying phase for the first time – and Bahrain are the other teams in that group.
“We had to do it the hard way in the qualifiers for the last World Cup and we’re going to have to dig even deeper this time,” Japan coach Moriyasu told reporters after the draw in the Malaysian capital.
