AFC chooses Saudi Arabia and Qatar as hosts for 2026 World Cup Qualifiers

According to AFC’s announcement, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been granted special privileges as hosts for the 2026 World Cup Qualifications Asian zone fourth round.

Six nations that advanced to the fourth round — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Oman — will be divided into two groups with single round robin match format.

The Indonesian Football Association submitted their hosting bid, but AFC established a policy that hosting rights would be given to the two nations with highest FIFA rankings as of June 2025.

Despite Qatar and Iraq holding Asia’s highest FIFA rankings in July 2025, AFC maintained their decision based on June rankings which positioned Qatar and Saudi Arabia as fourth round hosts.