The national teams of Saudi Arabia and Iraq face off in a fiery battle for a direct qualification spot to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, meeting today in Jeddah at 23:30 UAE time, as part of the Asian qualifiers playoff, with the host having the advantage as a draw is enough.

Saudi Arabia overturned a deficit against Indonesia to win 3-2 with two goals from Firas Al-Buraikan last Wednesday in Jeddah, which also hosted the second match last Saturday that favored Iraq, who secured a late victory over Indonesia with a beautiful goal by Zidan Iqbal.

Saudi Arabia leads the standings with three points, ahead of Iraq on goal difference, meaning they only need a draw to reach the finals for the third consecutive time and the seventh time in their history.