Saudi Arabia v Australia: 2026 World Cup Qualifying preview

After edging a 1-0 win over Japan in their last outing, Australia are on the verge of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup as they prepare to face Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

The Socceroos earned a dramatic victory over Japan to put them on the brink of qualification, with Aziz Behich scoring the 90th-minute winner.

With a place at the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada within touching distance, Tony Popvic’s side will be looking to finish the job when they make the trip slightly north of Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia v Australia betting preview

Sensible approach will win the day

The Socceroos are in a commanding position going into this game and anything other than a meltdown near Jeddah will see the Aussies secure their place at the next World Cup.

Australia sit in second place in Group C, behind a Japan side that have already qualified for the major tournament and fielded a weakened side in their last outing.

Popvic’s side sit on 16 points, with Saudi Arabia three points behind going into this final group game on Wednesday.

If Australia lose by less than five goals, they will be heading to the highly-anticaped 2026 World Cup.

The Socceroos are the slight underdogs going into this game, at 3.00 for the win and the same price to earn a draw in Saudi Arabia.

Saudis have nothing to lose

Against such odds to qualify automatically for the World Cup, expect Saudi Arabia to throw everything at the Socceroos in this one.

Saudi will have less time to recover for this game, following their 2-0 win over Bahrain on Friday.

Musab Fahd Aljuwayr and Abdulrahman Alobud got on the scoresheet to keep Saudi Arabia’s faint hopes of automatic qualification alive.

The hosts are 2.55 favourites to win on Wednesday, as they did in the last meeting between these sides in Saudi Arabia with a 1-0 win for the Arabian Falcons in 2022.

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Saudi Arabia v Australia odds

Saudi Arabia - 2.55
Draw - 3.00
Australia - 3.00

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.