JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- Palestine's hopes of continuing their pursuit of a maiden FIFA World Cup appearance will come down to the final day of the third round of the Asian qualifiers, while Saudi Arabia will require one of the most remarkable performances in recent memory if they're to overhaul Australia for an automatic berth in next year's tournament.
Thanks to goals from Tamer Seyam and Wessam Abou Ali, Palestine secured a vital Group B win away to Kuwait last Thursday, taking the Lions of Canaan just a point behind fourth-placed Oman, who fell to a 3-0 defeat against Jordan earlier in the evening.
"It's an important and a precious victory as we are able to bring joy to the Palestinian people," said coach Ihab Abu Jazar. "The match wasn't easy, especially since we were playing Kuwait on their home turf, in front of their fans looking to keep hopes alive with a win against us."
Now assured of a top-two finish, the Jordanians celebrated qualification for a first appearance at a World Cup with their triumph; the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finalists moving four points clear of third-placed Iraq -- who suffered a 2-0 defeat to South Korea that also secured the Taegeuk Warriors an 11th straight World Cup appearance.
The Iraqis, under new coach Graham Arnold, will now move into a fourth phase of Asian qualification -- one that will see the third- and fourth-place finishers in the third round's three groups separated into two groups of three, with the winners of each qualifying for the World Cup and the runners-up advancing to a fifth stage.
The Omanis, however, will need to avoid defeat against Palestine next Tuesday if they're to join Iraq there, travelling to face Abu Jazar's side at King Abdullah II Stadium. A win for either side would ensure their campaign will continue.
Neither Oman nor Palestine has ever qualified for the World Cup, with the latter forced to play their home games outside their homeland due to continuing conflict in Gaza. Led by newly crowned Scottish Cup champion Oday Dabbagh, they have never previously advanced this far in qualification.
In Group C, both Bahrain and China saw their World Cup hopes come to an end last week, while Indonesia ensured their remarkable campaign will continue in the fourth phase after defeating the Chinese 1-0 in Jakarta.
Saudi Arabia, however, still hold a very faint hope of stealing away second place in the group from Australia and the automatic qualification slot that goes with it after taking advantage of some wasteful Bahraini finishing to secure a 2-0 win in Riffa.
In light of the Socceroos' smash-and-grab 1-0 win over an already-qualified Japan, though, they will need to win by five or more goals in Jeddah for that to happen; needing to erase not just the three-point lead the Australians have but also their handy lead in goal difference and goals scored.
The odds of this would appear slim, given that the Saudis have scored just nine times in nine games and the Australians have conceded just six. The last time the Socceroos lost by five goals or more came back in 2013, when back-to-back 6-0 defeats to Brazil and France cost Holger Osieck his job and saw the start of the Ange Postecoglou era, and they're insistent they're going to Jeddah to win.
"We've got to be at it from the start," Aiden O'Neill told ESPN. "If we can control the game and use our experience, then we know it makes the job a lot simpler.
"You learn certain things. You have to be street-smart sometimes. But we're just going to go out and play our game, and go out there and do what we do. The rest will take out itself."
As it stands, Group A is the only fully settled group heading into the final matchday: Uzbekistan punching their tickets to a World Cup debut after recording a 0-0 draw with United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi last week, joining Iran in qualifying for 2026.
With Ró-Ró firing them to a 1-0 win over the Iranians in Doha, Qatar also ensured that they will joining UAE in the fourth phase of qualification -- the Maroons now six points clear of fifth-placed Kyrgyz Republic after the White Falcons were forced to come from behind and use an own goal to salvage a 2-2 draw with bottom side North Korea in Riyadh.