Australia secured its sixth consecutive qualification for the World Cup with a 2-1 victory against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The Socceroos needed only to avoid a five-goal deficit to advance but turned the match around thanks to goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitchell Duke, despite Abdulrahman Al Oboud scoring first for the hosts in the 19th minute.

In the final round of Asian qualifiers, the top two teams from each of the three groups of six automatically advance to the World Cup. Other nations like Jordan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Japan, and South Korea have also secured their places for next summer’s tournament, which will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea also celebrated successful qualification campaigns with impressive wins against Indonesia and Kuwait, respectively. Daichi Kamada opened the scoring for Japan in a dominant 6-0 victory, while South Korea sealed their top spot in Group B with a 4-0 triumph, with goals from Lee Kang-in, Jeon Jin-woo, Oh Hyeon-gyu, and Lee Jae-sung.

The six teams that finish third and fourth in the last round will compete for Asia’s remaining two automatic World Cup spots. Oman clinched the last spot after a crucial 1-1 draw against the Palestinian team, joining Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia in the fourth qualifying round set to begin in October.