4 weeks ago
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Who: Indonesia vs Saudi Arabia
What: FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers
Where: Alinma Bank Stadium astatine King Abdullah Sports City successful Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
When: Wednesday, October 8, astatine 8:15pm (17:15 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll person each the build-up connected Al Jazeera Sport from 5:15pm (14:15 GMT) beforehand of our unrecorded substance commentary stream.
Indonesia look Saudi Arabia arsenic the 4th circular of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup footwear disconnected connected Wednesday, with six teams inactive hoping to publication their places astatine the tourney successful the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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The 3rd circular of qualifiers were completed successful June, with six AFC teams confirming their qualification astatine that stage. The 4th circular is not rather the last-chance saloon, however, with an intercontinental playoff inactive to come.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look astatine the qualifier and however the past teams lasting tin inactive advancement to planetary football’s showpiece lawsuit adjacent year.
Why is Saudi Arabia staging the lucifer with Indonesia?
Saudi Arabia and Qatar were named successful June arsenic the cohosts for the current, and brief, 4th signifier of AFC qualifiers.
What is the format for the 4th circular of AFC World Cup qualifiers?
The six teams that inactive person a accidental of reaching the FIFA 2026 World Cup person been divided into 2 groups. Each squad volition play each different once, with the apical squad progressing straight to adjacent summer’s tournament.
The teams that decorativeness 2nd volition play a two-legged playoff, with the victor progressing to the intercontinental playoffs, which volition beryllium the last accidental for teams astir the globe to articulation those already qualified.
What are the 4th qualifying circular AFC groups?
- Group A: Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman
- Group B: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia
What are the dates for the 4th circular of qualifiers and the playoffs?
The last radical signifier of AFC qualification for the FIFA 2026 World Cup runs from October 8 to 14, with Indonesia against Saudi Arabia and Oman against Qatar kicking disconnected the process connected Wednesday.
The home-and-away playoff matches for the runners-up volition beryllium played connected November 13 and 18.
What is the afloat database of fixtures for the 4th circular of qualifiers?
Wednesday, October 8:
- Group A: Oman vs Qatar
- Group B: Indonesia vs Saudi Arabia
Saturday, October 11:
- Group A: United Arab Emirates vs Oman
- Group B: Iraq vs Indonesia
Tuesday, October 14:
- Group A: Qatar vs United Arab Emirates
- Group B: Saudi Arabia vs Iraq
How did Indonesia fare successful the 3rd circular of AFC qualifiers?
Indonesia finished 4th successful Group C successful the erstwhile circular of qualifiers, with Japan and Australia claiming the 2 automatic qualifying spots and Saudi Arabia finishing third. China and Bahrain were eliminated from the group.
Indonesia narrowly bushed China 1-0 successful their penultimate, and crucial, third-round lucifer to guarantee their spot successful the 4th round.
How did Saudi Arabia fare successful the 3rd circular of AFC qualifiers?
Saudi Arabia had the accidental to advancement automatically for adjacent summer’s World Cup successful their last radical signifier match, but were beaten 2-1 by Australia, who successful crook held 2nd spot.
Abdulrahman Al-Obud opened the scoring successful the lucifer for Saudi Arabia, who needed an improbable four-goal winning borderline successful the crippled to plaything the extremity quality successful their favour.
What happened the past clip Indonesia played Saudi Arabia?
Marselino Ferdinan scored some goals successful a 2-0 location win for Indonesia against Saudi Arabia successful the 2nd lucifer betwixt the sides successful the group.
The instrumentality fixture successful Saudi Arabia ended successful a 1-1 gully successful September.
✨ 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙔𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙎 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 ✨
The roadworthy to the #FIFAWorldCup takes a melodramatic crook arsenic the #AsianQualifiers Playoffs footwear disconnected tomorrow! 🌏⚽
Who volition emergence and support their hopes alive? 👀 pic.twitter.com/B3m7FT6DEd
— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) October 7, 2025
Indonesia indispensable not beryllium intimidated successful Saudi Arabia
Patrick Kluivert has urged his Indonesia players not to beryllium intimidated by the hostile ambiance astatine a sold-out King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Indonesia are attempting to scope the World Cup for the archetypal clip since gaining independency from the Netherlands successful 1949.
“I’m not acrophobic due to the fact that if you’re afraid, you amusement your weakness,” said the erstwhile Barcelona and Netherlands striker. “If we amusement weaknesses, that gives the hostile strength.
“We cognize the powerfulness and the spot of Saudi Arabia, particularly erstwhile they play astatine home, but we request to beryllium focused. The mindset is the astir important thing, to beryllium calm successful lukewarm situations.
“We person to play 2 finals, truthful time is simply a final. Big expectations, of course. The value is precise high. We are representing a state of 280 cardinal people, and we are ambassadors for the game.
“The astir important happening is to beryllium crisp successful the match. We unrecorded towards this moment, not lone us, but everybody backing america up is surviving for this moment.”
Saudi Arabia acceptable for revenge against Indonesia
Saudi manager Herve Renard is assured his squad tin enactment speech the disappointment of their erstwhile results against the Indonesians to prime up a triumph that volition determination the state a measurement person to a seventh World Cup appearance.
“I deliberation we person made precise bully improvements since January, and we proceed connected our way,” helium said.
“We are much confident, I deliberation we are stronger than before. But let’s play, due to the fact that the world is connected the field.”
Indonesia squad news
The Indonesians volition spell into the crippled without first-choice goalkeeper Emil Audero and striker Marselino Ferdinan, who scored the goals successful November’s triumph implicit the Saudis, portion chap guardant Ole Romeny is besides a doubt.
Saudi Arabia squad news
Saudi Arabia volition beryllium led successful onslaught by Salem Al-Dawsari, who has scored 25 times for his country.
Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti and Saad Al-Nasser are retired with musculus and genu injuries, respectively, portion Nawaf Al-Aqidi is simply a uncertainty owed to a hamstring problem.
Indonesia predicted starting lineup
Argawinata; Ridho, Idzes, Hubner; Sayuri, Haye, Pelupessy, Verdonk; Vikri, Sananta, Kambuaya
Saudi Arabia predicted starting lineup
Al-Aqidi; Al-Amri, Boushal, Al-Tambakti, Al-Harbi; Al-Dawsari, Kanno, Al-Hassan, Ali; Al-Shehri, Al-Buraikan
English (US) ·