{"id":9888,"date":"2025-10-08T23:40:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/08\/saudi-arabia-moves-one-step-closer-to-qualifying-for-the-2026-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T23:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:40:33","slug":"saudi-arabia-moves-one-step-closer-to-qualifying-for-the-2026-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/08\/saudi-arabia-moves-one-step-closer-to-qualifying-for-the-2026-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia moves one step closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) \u2014 Saudi Arabia defeated Indonesia 3-2 on Wednesday to advance within 90 minutes of qualifying. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">2026 world cup<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>A victory against Iraq, which will also be played in Jeddah next Tuesday, will ensure Saudi Arabia will finish first in Group B and qualify for their seventh World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>In the fourth round of the Asian Qualifier, only the winners of the two groups of three will automatically qualify for the tournament. 2nd place will advance to the 5th round.<\/p>\n<p>Indonesia, coached by former Netherlands international and Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert, took the lead in the 11th minute with a penalty kick from Kevin Dieks. Six minutes later, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat equalized, and in the 37th minute, Firas Alburaikan&#8217;s penalty gave Saudi Arabia the lead.<\/p>\n<p>Al Buraican scored again just after the hour mark, but Dix converted his second penalty in the 89th minute. Saudi Arabia&#8217;s Mohamed Kanno was sent off in stoppage time in the second half, but the hosts held on to win.<\/p>\n<p>If Indonesia loses to Iraq on Saturday, it will have no chance of returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1938.<\/p>\n<p>In Group A, Qatar drew 0-0 with Oman at Al Rayyan.<\/p>\n<p>Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui said: &#8220;We performed well throughout the match against a stubborn team who defended well and narrowed down the spaces.&#8221; \u201cDespite that, we created some chances but couldn&#8217;t convert them into goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oman, the only team to reach the fourth round who have never played in a World Cup, will face the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Oman coach Carlos Queiroz said: &#8220;A draw today would be the best result for both teams. A loss would hurt our chances of qualifying for the World Cup.&#8221; &#8220;We don&#8217;t have much time until we play against the UAE, but we want to prepare well to make our World Cup dream come true.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP Soccer: <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/asia-world-cup-saudi-arabia-cc1a3c72c36d48ced55f00274453f167\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) \u2014 Saudi Arabia defeated Indonesia 3-2 on Wednesday to advance within 90 minutes of qualifying. 2026 world cup. A victory against Iraq, which will also be played in Jeddah next Tuesday, will ensure Saudi Arabia will finish first in Group B and qualify for their seventh World Cup. In the fourth<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9888","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Saudi Arabia moves one step closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/08\/saudi-arabia-moves-one-step-closer-to-qualifying-for-the-2026-world-cup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saudi Arabia moves one step closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) \u2014 Saudi Arabia defeated Indonesia 3-2 on Wednesday to advance within 90 minutes of qualifying. 2026 world cup. A victory against Iraq, which will also be played in Jeddah next Tuesday, will ensure Saudi Arabia will finish first in Group B and qualify for their seventh World Cup. 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