Uzbekistan qualified for the men’s World Cup finals for the first time at the eighth attempt after a 0-0 draw with the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, while Australia and Jordan moved to the verge of booking berths in North America.
Goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov made a trio of second-half saves to ensure Uzbekistan their first World Cup qualification since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Uzbekistan join Japan, New Zealand, Iran and Argentina as the fourth team to have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico automatically qualified for the competition.
The draw means the UAE will now progress to the fourth round of qualifying as the point earned guarantees a third- or fourth-placed finish in Group A.
Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a victory that put Australia‘s celebrations on hold until the two nations meet in Jeddah on Tuesday.
But Australia’s vastly superior goal difference means they can lose that meeting with Saudi Arabia by up to four goals and still advance to a sixth consecutive World Cup finals as second-placed finishers behind Japan.
Jordan also moved to the cusp of qualification as Ali Olwan‘s hat trick delivered a 3-0 win over Oman in Muscat to leave Jamal Sellami’s side waiting for the result from South Korea‘s clash with Iraq in Basra later on Thursday in Group B.
Indonesia guaranteed their involvement in the World Cup preliminaries would continue into the fourth round as a 1-0 win over China also ended the qualification hopes of Branko Ivankovic’s side.
Ole Romeny‘s 45th minute penalty separated the sides in Jakarta to ensure Indonesia would finish in either third or fourth place in Group C, thereby progressing to the next phase, which will be played in October.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
