World Cup 2026 and 4 fiery tickets from Asia

The ninth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia will take place on the evening of June 5 (Vietnam time). The first 4/6 tickets from Asia can be decided in this round.

China team (right) faces difficulties against host Indonesia - Photo: Global Times

After eight matches, Japan and Iran are the teams that have secured early tickets in groups C and A.

Every match is exciting

With 16 points after eight rounds in Group B, South Korea is also getting closer to the 2026 World Cup. Four points ahead of Iraq, South Korea only needs a draw in the direct confrontation with this opponent in round 9 to secure a ticket.

The first three tickets, equivalent to the top three positions in the group, are unlikely to escape the hands of the three giants Japan, Korea, and Iran. The race for the remaining three official tickets of phase 3 promises to be extremely exciting and may last until the end of the final round.

In Group A, UAE (3rd place, 13 points) will host Uzbekistan (2nd place, 17 points) in a must-win situation. But even if they beat Uzbekistan, the chance for UAE to come back and compete for second place in the group is still very low, because Uzbekistan will play at home against Qatar in the final match.

Meanwhile, the giant Qatar is facing losing the 4th position - equivalent to a ticket to the 4th stage (to compete for the remaining two official tickets after determining the 6 official tickets for the 3rd stage). The shocking 1-3 defeat to Kyrgyzstan caused Qatar to be narrowed by this opponent to only 4 points. And they also have to face the two strongest teams in the group, Iran and Uzbekistan, in the final matches.

In Group B, Iraq will be the decisive team when they host the group leader South Korea (16 points) and visit the second-placed Jordan (13 points) in the last two matches. If they win 4 points in these two matches, Iraq will likely be able to squeeze into the top 2 of the group. South Korea certainly cannot underestimate Iraq because in the first leg, they only won by a narrow 3-2 score despite playing at home.

This is also the only group where all six teams still have motivation to compete until the ninth round when the bottom team Kuwait still hopes to enter the top 4.

Group C is the most unpredictable

In Group C, except for Japan, who are too superior, there is still a chance for all teams. With 13 points, Australia cannot be sure of second place in the group because they are only 3 points ahead of Saudi Arabia and 4 points ahead of Indonesia. Australia will have to face two strong teams, Japan and Saudi Arabia, in the last two matches.

In the lower group, China and Bahrain (both with 6 points) are still determined to enter the top 4 to qualify for the fourth round, although they have run out of chances to qualify directly. China will enter the "final" match with host Indonesia. A loss would mean the end of China's World Cup dream. And even a draw would make their chances insignificant.

In the first leg, China beat Indonesia 2-1. But that was when they played at home and Indonesia made a mistake when playing aggressively. In a situation where they only need a draw, Indonesia promises to learn from the experience.

* Schedule of notable matches: Australia - Japan (18:10), Indonesia - China (20:45), UAE - Uzbekistan, Bahrain - Saudi Arabia (23:00).

Back to topic

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/world-cup-2026-va-4-chiec-ve-ruc-lua-cua-chau-a-20250605080501901.htm