The 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia helped Indonesia rise to 3rd place in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The situation in this group is very tense. Except for Japan, which is superior with 16 points, the gap between the remaining teams is not significant. There are 4 teams with 6 points, of which Indonesia has the best goal difference.
The chance to finish in the top 4 is still open for Shin Tae-yong and his team.
In Group B, Korea is leading with 14 points, but is still not safe as it is only 3 points ahead of the second team. The victory over Oman gives Iraq a big advantage in this race. But Jordan and Oman still have a chance with 4 more matches.
South Korea will also need to focus more to soon win tickets to the 2026 World Cup under pressure from 3 representatives from the Middle East.
In Group A, Iran is leading with 16 points, closely followed by Uzbekistan with 13 points. Qatar is having trouble finishing only 4th. It is worth mentioning that they are the team that has conceded the most goals in the 3rd qualifying round of the Asian region (17 goals), although the results are not bad. That makes Qatar's goal difference very low and will make it more difficult to compete with their opponents.
According to the format of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Asia will be awarded more than 8 places, of which: The first 6 official places will be awarded to the 6 teams that finish first and second in the group in the 3rd qualifying round.
The 6 teams ranked 3rd and 4th continue to participate in the 4th qualifying round to compete for 2 official tickets.
