(Reuters) -Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been awarded the hosting rights for the fourth round of Asia's 2026 World Cup preliminaries in October, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday. The pair have reached the next phase of the continent's qualifiers and will be joined by Iraq,

Saudi Arabia needs a near-impossible outcome against Australia to take the last of six direct spots at the 2026 World Cup in this round of Asian qualifying.

Australia qualified for its sixth straight World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia. The Socceroos, needing just to avoid defeat by five goals to advance to the 2026 tournament, came from behind with goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitchell Duke to win after Abdulrahman Al Oboud had put the hosts ahead after 19 minutes.