With Asia getting an extra four spots at the 48-team World Cup 2026, the qualification paths have altered for aspiring nations.
The Socceroos are currently in the midst of the main World Cup qualifying phase and still have some more work to do to reach the main event in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Despite Asia now having more teams at the next World Cup, qualification is proving to be more competitive than ever.
The Sporting News explains what Australia needs to reach the 2026 World Cup.
MORE: Socceroos World Cup 2026 qualifying – Fixtures, results, scores, groups, squad
How many World Cup 2026 slots does Asia have?
The AFC now has eight direct slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot for the 2026 World Cup
This is an increase from the four direct slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot for the 2022 World Cup.
Australia's World Cup 2026 qualifying situation
The Socceroos are currently second in Group C in the third round of AFC World Cup qualifying.
With one match against Saudi Arabia remaining, if they can stay in second position, they will qualify directly for the World Cup.
If Australia fails to qualify directly for the World Cup via the third round, they must finish either third or fourth to progress to the fourth round.
This scenario is explained in the bottom section of this piece.
Socceroos AFC 3rd round World Cup 2026 qualifying standings
Group C
Last updated June 6, 2025
| Pos. | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Japan | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 21 | 20 |
| 2. | Australia | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| 3. | Saudi Arabia | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| 4. | Indonesia | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 12 |
| 5. | Bahrain | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 6 |
| 6. | China | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 | -14 | 6 |
What does Australia need to reach World Cup 2026?
Australia wins or draws vs. Saudi Arabia
Australia will sew up second position in the group and automatically qualify for World Cup 2026 if it secures a win or draw vs. Saudi Arabia.
Australia loses vs. Saudi Arabia
Australia can still qualify automatically for the World Cup and it would require a Saudi Arabia win of five goals or more for the Socceroos to be leapfrogged.
With the green-and-gold holding a plus-eight goal difference advantage over Saudi Arabia, they would need to lose by five goals or more to go behind the Middle East nation on goal difference.
The only way the Saudi can progress with an equal goal difference to Australia, is to equal Australia's amount of goals scored at a minimum as well, but that isn't going to be a realistic scoreline.
The reason why this can technically happen are the group tiebreakers are as follows:
- Points obtained in group matches
- Highest goal difference in group matches
- Most goals scored in group matches
- Greatest number of points between teams concerned
Socceroos AFC third round World Cup 2026 qualifying schedule
The schedule and results for Australia's third round World Cup qualifying is as follows:
| Matchday 1 | 5 September 2024 | Socceroos 0-1 Bahrain | Robina Stadium |
| Matchday 2 | 10 September 2024 | Indonesia 0-0 Socceroos | Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium |
| Matchday 3 | 10 October 2024 | Socceroos 3-1 China | Adelaide Oval |
| Matchday 4 | 15 October 2024 | Japan 1-1 Socceroos | Saitama Stadium 2002 |
| Matchday 5 | 14 November 2024 | Socceroos 1-1 Saudi Arabia | AAMI Park |
| Matchday 6 | 19 November 2024 | Bahrain 2-2 Socceroos | Bahrain National Stadium |
| Matchday 7 | 20 March 2025 | Socceroos 5-1 Indonesia | Sydney Football Stadium |
| Matchday 8 | 25 March 2025 | China 0-2 Socceroos | Hangzhou Sports Park Stadium |
| Matchday 9 | 5 June 2025 | Socceroos 1-0 Japan | Optus Stadium, Perth |
| Matchday 10 | 10 June 2025 | Saudi Arabia vs Socceroos | King Abdullah Sport City, Jeddah |
What happens if Australia misses auto-qualification?
Out of the three groups of six teams in the AFC third round of World Cup qualifying - the top two in each group will proceed to the 2026 tournament.
This means that six of the eight direct slots will be decided during this phase.
Once the third round phase is completed:
- Third and fourth-placed teams from each group in the third round will proceed to the fourth round where two direct 2026 FIFA World Cup spots are available. This will involve two groups of three teams, with teams playing each other once at a centralised venue. The winner of each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup and see the eight direct slots utilised
- The two runner's up in each group from the fourth round will then compete against each other in a two-legged playoff to decide Asia's representative in the inter-confederation playoff
- The intercontinental playoff will see six nations compete for two World Cup spots - featuring AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and two from CONCACAF. Each of the six nations will be seeded. The four lowest-seeded nations will play off in straight knockout matches with the two winners meeting the top-two seeded nations for a spot at the World Cup.