Indonesia s dream of the 1988 World Cup ends, the UAE staged a counterattack to close the 2026 World Cup ticket

The second round of the Asian playoffs of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup was held on the 11th local time. In Group A, the UAE defeated Oman 2-1, and in Group B, Iraq defeated Indonesia 1-0. At this point, Indonesia, which suffered two consecutive losses in Group B, was locked in at the bottom of the group and was determined to miss the World Cup. The third round of each group will be held on the 14th.

Although Indonesia scored first in the first game of the play-offs, it was determined to be eliminated after two consecutive losses.

In Group A, the United Arab Emirates, which had a bye in the first round of the play-offs, faced Oman, which drew with Qatar in the first game. In the 12th minute of the game, Oman cut into the penalty area after attacking from the left and right. Defender Amjad Alhalsi's cross seemed to be passed and shot. It hit UAE defender Kwame Anton Quadio and then refracted into the net. Oman took a step closer to the goal of qualifying for the World Cup.

However, in the 76th minute, the UAE got a cross from the left from the substitute midfielder Ali Saleh, and defender Marcus Meloni scored with a header to equalize the score. Seven minutes later, they launched another attack from the left, and midfielder Keio Lucas sent an inswinging pass. The ball passed through the goal and went directly into the net, and the UAE took the lead.

This goal became the winning goal, and the second-tier team UAE moved to the top of the group with 3 points. In the final round on the 14th, they will face the first-tier team Qatar. As long as they remain unbeaten, they can achieve a "counterattack" - qualifying for the World Cup for the second time in 36 years since Italy first participated in the World Cup in 1990.

Oman, which has just finished the match, has lost the possibility of directly qualifying for the World Cup as the top group leader. If they want to qualify for the intercontinental play-offs, which is second in the group, they need to hope that Qatar loses by two goals or more in the final round.

After losing to Iraq, Indonesia missed the 2026 World Cup.

In Group B, Iraq, which had a bye in the first round of the play-offs, faced Indonesia, which had lost to Saudi Arabia in the first game and was on the verge of despair. Both teams faced a situation where they had to win, and they started to attack while testing each other. In the 76th minute, Iraq broke the deadlock. The 22-year-old forward Zidane Iqbal, who came on as a substitute, dribbled the ball from the right, cut across to the top of the penalty area and then shot a cold arrow with his left foot. A low ball went straight to the lower right corner of the goal.

This goal became the winning goal. After taking all three points, Iraq currently ranks first in Group B with Saudi Arabia with 3 points. If it can defeat Saudi Arabia in the final round on the 14th, Iraq will enter the World Cup for the second time in 40 years since its debut in Mexico in 1986.

Indonesia suffered two consecutive defeats and was locked in at the bottom of Group B. They failed to realize their dream of returning to the World Cup after 88 years since becoming the first Asian team to participate in the World Cup as a representative of the Dutch East Indies in 1938. The current standings and results of the

play-offs are as follows:

[Group A] (Venue: Qatar)

1 . United Arab Emirates (3 points) Goal difference +1

2 . Qatar (1 point) Goal difference 0

3 . Oman (1 point) Goal difference-1

Round 1

October 8, 2025 (Wednesday)

Oman 0-0 Qatar [Doha]

Round 2

October 11 (Saturday)

UAE 2-1 Oman [Doha]

Round 3

October 14 (Tuesday)

Qatar vs UAE [Doha]

[Group B] (Venue: Saudi Arabia)

1 . Saudi Arabia (3 points) Goal difference +1

2 . Iraq (3 points) Goal difference +1

3 . Indonesia (0 points) Goal difference-2

Round 1

October 8, 2025 (Wednesday)

Indonesia 2-3 Saudi Arabia [Jeddah]

2nd round

October 11 (Saturday)

Iraq 1-0 Indonesia [Jeddah]

3rd round

October 14 (Tuesday)

Saudi Arabia vs Iraq [Jeddah]