A fiery confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq to decide the qualification ticket to the 2026 World Cup

The Saudi and Iraqi national teams are competing in a fiery battle for a direct qualification ticket to the 2026 World Cup in football, when they meet on Tuesday in Jeddah in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers, with the advantage going to the host who is sufficient for a draw.

Saudi Arabia overturned its deficit against Indonesia and won 3-2 with a Firas Al-Braikan brace on Wednesday in Jeddah, which hosted the second match on Saturday in the second group, and smiled at Iraq, which achieved a late victory over Indonesia with a beautiful goal by Zidane Iqbal.

Saudi Arabia leads the standings by three points, with a difference in goals scored over Iraq, which means that it needs a draw to reach the finals for the third time in a row and the seventh in its history.

The first-place finisher in each group qualifies directly to the World Cup, while the second-place finisher will play two home-and-away matches, on November 13 and 18, 2025, to reach the global playoff.

In addition to the two chances of qualifying, Saudi Arabia has the advantage of having three days of rest over Iraq, which is dreaming of a second qualification to the global event, after the Mexico 1986 edition, when it was eliminated in the first round.

However, French coach Herve Renard’s squad will be without key player Mohamed Kanno, who was sent off against Indonesia after coming on as a substitute at the end of the match.

Renard’s trust in Al-Ahly midfielder Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, who had only three international matches under his belt, paid off, as he scored the equalizer with a beautiful shot.

However, the coach, who is entering his second period with the “Green Falcons” after leading him in the 2022 World Cup, must be careful of his defense, which faced 17 Indonesian shots, including 10 between the posts.

Renard expressed his frustration at his team’s inability to achieve a more comfortable victory, “We did not start the match well, but our reaction was excellent. At one stage of the match we were ahead 3-1 and we had additional chances to score, and we had to decide the match completely.”

He added: “In the end, we received a second penalty and were subjected to a lot of pressure, but this pressure was due to us, because we were supposed to end things before that.”

Regarding his next decisive match, the coach who previously led the Zambian and Côte d’Ivoire national teams to the Africa Cup of Nations title added, “We have to deal intelligently with the second match in order to ensure qualification for the World Cup. When you are a coach, you cannot do anything without the players. I have great confidence because they are the ones who give me this confidence, and I know that they are determined and well focused on their goal.” On the other hand, the Iraqi team failed to score in only three matches out of 16. Since the second round, doubts have been swirling around the participation of the team’s attacking star, Ayman Hussein, who was absent from the Indonesia match due to injury, noting that he participated in the “Lions of Mesopotamia’s” recent exercises.

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