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Hassan Kadesh Saves Saudi Arabia While the Asian Champion Stumbles Again

Defender Hassan Kadesh rescued the Saudi national team, leading them to a 2-1 victory over China in the second round of Group C matches in the third stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In other results, the much-anticipated Kuwait-Iraq clash ended in a goalless draw, while Qatar, the reigning Asian champions, continued their underwhelming run with a draw against North Korea. The UAE also stumbled at home, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Iran.

In the first match, China took the lead early after an own goal by Ali Lajami (14’). However, Kadesh scored the equalizer just before halftime (39’) and sealed the win with a last-minute goal (90’). It’s worth noting that Saudi Arabia played with with 10 men from the 19th minute after Mohammed Kanno received a red card.

In the same group, Australia failed to secure a win for the second consecutive match, settling for a 2-2 draw against Indonesia. Meanwhile, Japan dominated Bahrain with a crushing 5-0 victory.

Saudi Arabia now sits at four points, after a shaky start in the first round with a 1-1 draw against Indonesia. They trail Japan, who leads Group C with six points. Bahrain holds three points, followed by Indonesia with two, Australia with one, and China, who have yet to earn a point.

This victory was crucial for Saudi Arabia, keeping their World Cup qualification hopes alive as they face tough upcoming matches against Japan, Australia, and Bahrain, the latter of whom already secured a win over Australia in the opening round.

Group B

Iraq, reduced to 10 men as early as the 7th minute, managed to hold on for a valuable draw against hosts Kuwait in a goalless stalemate at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in in the second round of Group B matches.

Elsewhere in the group, Oman fell to South Korea and Palestine suffered a 3-1 defeat to Jordan.

Jordan now tops Group B with four points, followed by South Korea and Iraq, both level on points but trailing on goal difference. Kuwait is in fourth place with two points, while Palestine holds one point. Oman remains without points after two rounds.

In the upcoming third round, scheduled for October 10, Kuwait will travel to Oman, Palestine will face Iraq, and South Korea will take on Jordan.

In the Jordan-Palestine clash held in Kuala Lumpur, Al-Arabi’s player Yazan Al-Naimat scored twice (5’ and 49’), while Nour Al-Rawabdeh added the third (71’). Palestine’s only goal came from Wissam Abu Ali (41’).

Meanwhile, Qatar settled for a 2-2 draw against North Korea in a match that was paused for nearly 20 minutes due to heavy rain at Laos’ New National Stadium.

Qatar’s poor run follows a 3-1 loss to the UAE in the opening round, leaving the Asian champions with just one point from two matches. North Korea earned their first point after losing 1-0 to Uzbekistan in the opening round.

n Group A, Iran secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the UAE in Al Ain, with Mehdi Ghaedi scoring the decisive goal in stoppage time (45+3).

I ran now has six points, placing them second in Group A, just behind Uzbekistan, who leads on goal difference after defeating Kyrgyzstan 3-2. The UAE remains third with three points, ahead of North Korea and Qatar, both with one point, while Kyrgyzstan sits at the bottom without a point.

Iran’s dominance over the UAE continues, with the Emirates securing just one win in 20 matches – a 3-1 friendly victory in 1997. The UAE has now lost seven consecutive matches to Iran, managing to score only once during that span.

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