Saudi Arabia book place at 2026 World Cup finals after hard-fought draw with Iraq
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia secured a place at the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a goalless draw against Iraq in Jeddah in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers. The hard-fought point was enough to give the Green Falcons top spot in Group B and guarantee their seventh appearance at the finals.
While the majority of the 60,000 or so fans in Jeddah were celebrating at the end, the tense and attritional game was far from an easy watch. As such, it was a reflection of much of the qualification campaign that preceded it.
But few in the crowd cared about any of that as coach Herve Renard, his players and Saudi officials celebrated on the pitch at the final whistle. It was a case of “job done,” with a summer of football on the world stage in North America to look forward to next year.
The Saudis made most of the running in the first half and throughout the game, pinning Iraq back, but creating clear chances proved difficult.
