Australia Secures Sixth Consecutive World Cup Qualification After Saudi Arabia Victory

Australia secured their sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup qualification with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, finishing as runners-up in Group C behind Japan. The Socceroos overturned an early Saudi lead with goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitch Duke, while goalkeeper Maty Ryan, in his 100th appearance, made a crucial penalty save to preserve the win. This qualification marks Australia's seventh overall World Cup appearance and continues their streak of automatic qualifications since 2006. Japan topped the group, and Saudi Arabia will advance to the next qualifying round, alongside Indonesia. The match underscored the impact of head coach Tony Popovic, who remains unbeaten since taking over the team. Other Asian qualifiers advancing include South Korea, Iran, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.