The Australian men's football team took the last train to the 2026 World Cup, and the North Korean team won the round of 18 hard

Australia has qualified for the World Cup finals for the sixth consecutive time after receiving the last direct ticket to the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup allocated to Asia. On the morning of the 11th, Beijing time, the Australian national football team led by coach Tony Popovich reversed the Saudi Arabian team 2-1 in an away match in the 10th round of Group C of the 2026 FIFA (FIFA) Asian Zone 3 Qualifiers for the Asian Zone of the Asian Zone at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After the victory over Saudi Arabia confirmed their qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals, the players of the Australian national football team were very happy.

So far, the Australian team has finished the third stage of qualifying with 19 points (5 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss), and the group is ranked 2nd in Group C after Japan (23 points, 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss), and successfully qualified for the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup finals with the second place in Group C. At the same time, starting from the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Australian men's football team will be on the stage of the World Cup finals for the sixth consecutive time and the seventh time in the team's history.

In the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup World Cup Asian Zone 3 Qualifiers, the six countries that won the top two places in the three groups will directly enter the finals. The six countries ranked 3rd and 4th in each group will again be divided into two groups for the Stage 4 Qualifiers, with the top teams in each group receiving additional tickets to the finals. After that, the winning team in the matchup between the two nations who finished second in the qualifying group in Stage 4 will qualify for the intercontinental play-offs and challenge for the final qualifiers.

Australians who are confirmed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals and share their joy.

In the final match of the stage 3 qualifiers, Australia can enter the finals if they are not defeated by Saudi Arabia by more than 5 goals on the day. Australia saw Saudi Arabia's Abdurrahman Alboud take the lead in the 19th minute of the first half.

However, in the 42nd minute of the first half, Connor Metkov, who received a pass from Mitch Duke, equalized with a left-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area, and in the third minute of the second half, when Martin Boyle's cross from the left flank, Duke's header turned the tide of the game. Australia were awarded a penalty in the 40th minute of the second half, but goalkeeper Matthew Lane saved Saudi Arabia's Salim Al-Dawsaari to save the victory.

North Korea and Iran in action

With Australia taking the last train through to the last train, all six countries in Asia that will directly enter the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup finals have been decided. They are Iran and Uzbekistan in Group A, South Korea and Jordan in Group B, and Japan and Australia in Group C. Six countries were also selected for the Stage 4 qualifiers with two qualifiers. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in Group A, Iraq and Oman in Group B, and Saudi Arabia and Indonesia in Group C will enter the Stage 4 qualifiers with third and fourth place finishes respectively.

The North Korean team in Group A lost 0-3 to Iran, the top team in the group, and ended the qualifiers with 3 draws and 7 losses (3 points), finishing at the bottom of the group. In the third stage of qualifying, only two of the 18 countries that did not win a single win were North Korea and Kuwait in Group B (5 draws and 5 losses). In the final round of the round of 18 of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup Asian Qualifiers in Chongqing on the 10th, the Chinese men's football team relied on Wang Yudong's penalty kick to beat the Bahrain team to avoid the bottom of the group.