Over the next eight days six Asian nations will battle for two 2026 World Cup places and it feels as if Saudi Arabia and Qatar are already a little closer to North America.
The two countries have been handed home advantage for the games in the two mini-groups by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) with the winners of each qualifying. The decision, announced in June without revealing any selection criteria, left their opponents understandably upset. Indonesia, Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) expressed interest in hosting themselves or requested neutral venues and also called for transparency and fairness in the decision-making process but to no avail.
