AFC World Cup Qualification Round Four Preview

OCTOBER 3, 2025 – Round four of AFC World Cup qualification is set to take place in the October international window. A breakdown:

FORMAT: Six nations divided into two groups of three. Three total matches per group, with each nation playing the others in the group. Both group winner automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, second place in both groups advance to round five of AFC World Cup Qualification (which entails home and away head to head matches for advancement to the Intercontinental Playoffs), and last place in both groups are eliminated. All matches in round four will be hosted in one of two designated host nations, Qatar for Group A and Saudi Arabia for Group B.

GROUP A: Oman, Qatar (HOST), UAE
Oct. 8 – Oman vs Qatar
Oct. 11 – UAE vs Oman
Oct. 14 – Qatar vs UAE

Oman (Round 3 Finish – 4th Place in Group B):
Oman advanced to the fourth round of AFC World Cup Qualification controversially, being granted a PK in stoppage time in what ended up as a draw against Palestine on the final matchday of the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification. Oman finished fourth in Group B with 11 points in round three, Palestine finished fifth in the group with 10 points. Oman most recently were eliminated in a PK shootout against India in the CAFA Nations Cup.

Carlos Queiroz took over the managerial duties for Oman after the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification, where Rasheed Jaber Al Yafai coached the last eight matches – after a short stint from Jaroslave Silhavy lasted just two matches in the third round – making Queiroz manager number three for Oman since the start of the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification back in September 2024.

Qatar (Round 3 Finish – 4th Place in Group A):
Qatar were the winners of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup they hosted, becoming back to back winners of the tournament… and were notably the best defensive side at the tournament. Qatar’s success was led by the goalscoring duo of Akram Afif and Almoez Ali, and Tintin Marquez as manager. Then… the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification happened. Qatar became the worst defensive nation in the third round, conceding 24 goals in 10 matches. Marquez was sacked eight matches into the third round, having lost to the UAE 1-3 at home and 0-5 in Abu Dhabi, and suffering a 1-4 loss to Iran in a neutral site in Dubai. Luis Garcia Fernandez stepped in, now the manager of Las Palmas, and lost to Kyrgyzstan 3-1 and was sacked for current manager Julen Lopetegui. The former West ham manager earned an important 1-0 win over Iran in his first match with Qatar, but followed that up by suffering a loss 0-3 to Uzbekistan on the final matchday of the third round, and has since lost to Russia and Lebanon in friendlies in the last two windows. Qatar will be reliant on the heroics of one of Asia’s best, Akram Afif, if they want a chance to play in the 2026 World Cup.

UAE (Round 3 Finish – 3rd Place in Group A):
UAE played very well in the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification under both Paulo Bento and current manager Cosmin Olaroiu, as they finished with a great goal differential (15 GF, 8 GA), and went 4-2-0 in six matches against nations not named Uzbekistan and Iran. UAE dominated Qatar in the third round, beating them with a combined aggregate score of 8-1 across the two matches.

UAE’s star forward Fabio Lima has been on a tear, with four goals and an assist in the last four matches for Al Wasl, including a three goal contribution performance against PGPL side Esteghlal in AFC Champions League Two.

GROUP B: Indonesia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia (HOST)
Oct. 8 – Indonesia vs Saudi Arabia
Oct. 11 – Iraq vs Indonesia
Oct. 14 – Saudi Arabia vs Iraq

Indonesia (Round 3 Finish – 4th Place in Group C):
Indonesia were the surprise of the third round in AFC World Cup Qualification. Ranked 150th in the world by FIFA heading into round one, they were the only nation to qualify for the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification that competed in the first round. After beating out their fellow ASEAN nations in Vietnam and the Philippines in round two, they outplayed China and Bahrain in Group C of the third round to qualify for this fourth round.

Notably for Indonesia – they beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Senayan and drew Saudi Arabia in Jeddah in the third round, a matchup they have had the better results in. Of course, that was before the managerial change from Shin Tae-Yong to Patrick Kluivert, a change that’s produced a mixed bag of results: 1-0 wins to China and Bahrain, and blowout losses to Australia and Japan (6-0 and 5-1, respectively).

Iraq (Round 3 Finish – 3rd Place in Group B):
Iraq come into the fourth round of World Cup Qualification after struggling to score consistently in the third round – and with a new manager at the helm. Former Australia manager Graham Arnold took over the managerial duties for Iraq in May, leading Iraq to a King’s Cup victory as well as a loss to South Korea and a win over Jordan in the last window of round three in AFC World Cup Qualification. Former manager Jesus Casas Garcia ran into a poor stretch of form, finishing last in their group in the 2024 Gulf Cup before suffering a loss to Palestine and a draw against Kuwait in the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification at the start of 2025 that ultimately led to his sacking.

Iraq are a defensively solid side that has proven capable of winning matches by a single goal, but the lacked consistency in scoring goals in the third round. Look for Al Karma forward Aymen Hussein to lead the Iraq front line with his knack for scoring important goals for the national team – the second highest all-time goalscorer in Iraq NT history.

Saudi Arabia (Round 3 Finish – 3rd Place in Group C):
Saudi Arabia went from topping their group in round three of 2022 AFC World Cup Qualification over Japan and Australia, to beating Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Lusail. After that World Cup, Herve Renard left the national team managerial role and that role was eventually replaced by Roberto Mancini, months before the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Mancini infamously walked down the tunnel during the knockout stage penalty shootout against South Korea, a shootout the Saudi Arabian side lost – and continued to manage the Saudi Arabian national team through the second round and part of the third round of AFC World Cup Qualification. After going 1-2-1, earning just 5 points in 4 matches to start the third round, Mancini was sacked and replaced by… Herve Renard. The same magic hasn’t been there from the 2022 World Cup with Renard, as Saudi Arabia have been unconvincing. A poor performance at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, losses in the third round to Australia at home and Indonesia in Senayan have the hosts and favorites of Group B vulnerable heading into the fourth round.

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