Arab football fans are anticipating a fateful confrontation between the Saudi national team and its Iraqi counterpart, this evening, as part of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup finals, scheduled to be held in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
The Saudi “Green” team enters the confrontation leading its group on goal difference over Iraq, as the two teams have the same points tally after their victory over the Indonesian team, which exited the qualifiers early, after the Saudi team achieved a dramatic victory over Indonesia with a score of 3-2, while Iraq’s victory came with an unanswered goal.
Date of the match between Saudi Arabia and Iraq and broadcast channels
The match between Saudi Arabia and Iraq will start at 10:15 pm Cairo, Mecca and Doha time, corresponding to 11:15 pm Abu Dhabi time, and will be broadcast on BeIN Sports 2 HD and Al-Kass 6 HD, exclusively in the Middle East and North Africa region.
An expected clash between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the World Cup qualifiers
The match is considered a crossroads for both parties. Saudi Arabia has the advantage of direct qualification, as a draw is sufficient for it to secure the top spot in the group and officially pass to the World Cup, while the “Lions of Mesopotamia” has no alternative but to achieve victory if they want to seize the qualification ticket without going through the Asian playoff.
According to the qualifying system approved by the AFC, the first-place finisher qualifies directly to the World Cup, while the group runner-up plays a playoff against the runner-up of another group, in a home-and-away system, to qualify for the global playoff.
The Saudi national team is armed with the experience of Renard and the fans against Iraq
The Saudi national team is armed with the experience of its French coach, Hervé Renard, and the expected public support, in addition to the strong performance it presented in the opening of its matches against Indonesia, while the Iraqi national team is counting on the readiness and skill of its players in the crucial matches, in order to maintain its chances of qualifying.
Six teams have already secured their places in the final stage of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, namely Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Jordan.
