The 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia is divided into two groups, playing a round-robin from October 8 to 14, 2025.
With the draw in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Group A includes hosts Qatar, UAE and Oman and Group B includes hosts Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia. The top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, the two runners-up will advance to the fifth qualifying round, with the winners playing an intercontinental match to secure a ticket to the World Cup.
Representing Southeast Asia, Indonesia will play its opening match against Saudi Arabia on October 8, and Iraq on October 11. As the host, Saudi Arabia has the advantage of a six-day break between matches, while Indonesia and Iraq only have two days off.
Indonesia to face Saudi Arabia again in World Cup qualifier 4 (Photo: Bola)
According to the FIFA rankings for July 2025, Saudi Arabia is ranked 59th in the world , Iraq is 58th, and Indonesia is 118th. In Group A, Qatar is ranked highest at 53rd, followed by UAE (65) and Oman (79).
In the third qualifying round, Indonesia surprised everyone by beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at home, after a 1-1 draw in Jeddah, the first time the archipelago nation had beaten their opponents in 14 matches. However, the defeat at the 2024 ASEAN Cup saw coach Shin Tae-yong leave his post, making way for Dutch coach Patrick Kluivert.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has never beaten Iraq after 9 encounters (1 draw, 8 losses). In the second qualifying round, Iraq beat Indonesia 3-1 and 2-0.
However, the Indonesian team has made many changes and this is considered an opportunity for coach Kluivert and his team to get revenge.
In Asia, direct tickets to the 2026 World Cup are determined to be 6, including Iran, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Uzbekistan and Jordan.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/indonesia-dau-a-rap-saudi-iraq-o-vong-loai-thu-4-world-cup-2026-196250717154538889.htm
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