São Paulo – Qatar and Saudi Arabia have secured their spots in the next World Cup, which will be held in 2026 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Both teams played on Tuesday (14) in the Asian qualifiers. With their qualification, there are now seven Arab countries in the tournament, as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Jordan had already earned their places.
In a match held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar needed to beat the United Arab Emirates. In the second half, Boualem Khoukhi opened the scoring, and Pedro Miguel doubled the lead. In stoppage time, Sultan Adil scored for the UAE. With this result, Qatar secured its second appearance in a World Cup. Their debut was in 2022, when the country hosted the tournament.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had the advantage of being able to draw their match against Iraq and maintained a 0-0 scoreline until the final whistle in the game held in Jeddah. The country will participate in the competition for the seventh time, and for the third consecutive edition. In 2034, Saudi Arabia will also host the FIFA World Cup. Iraq and the UAE will still compete in the playoffs for a chance to qualify.
Of the 48 teams that will compete in the tournament, 28 have already qualified. In addition to the seven Arab nations and the three host countries, the following teams are confirmed for the World Cup: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, Cape Verde, South Korea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, England, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Senegal, and Uzbekistan.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
