
Saudi Arabia’s path to 2026 World Cup starts in qualifying group with Jordan and Tajikistan
Associated PressKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Saudi Arabia’s path to the 2026 World Cup in North America will start in a first qualifying group with neighboring Jordan, Tajikistan, and either Cambodia or Pakistan. Players in the Saudi national team — which upset eventual champion Argentina 2-1 to open last year’s tournament in Qatar — will prepare for the next edition training and playing with a slew of global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema lured to the multi-billion dollar project that the Saudi league has become. Saudi Arabia’s extra interest in World Cup qualifying is that the top two teams in each of the nine four-team groups also goes direct to the 2027 Asian Cup, a tournament that will be hosted in the oil-rich kingdom. None of Asia’s eight direct qualifying places to the expanded 48-team World Cup — co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico — are on offer from this group stage.
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