Saudi Arabia and Jordan both come into the final matchday in round two of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with their place in the third round already secured.
The hosts are top of Group G after five matches and are yet to be beaten, while the visitors are second and three points behind the leaders.
Match preview
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Roberto Mancini took over the Saudi Arabia job in August 2023 and struggled for results in his opening games in charge, suffering three defeats and taking a single draw from his first four matches.
The initial two fixtures in Group G appeared to turn his fortunes around though, as they took two victories and now come into this final group game with one defeat in their last 12 matches across all competitions.
While their qualification into the third round is already secured Mancini's side will be looking to continue their brilliant form and carry their momentum into the next round as they hope for a third consecutive entry into the World Cup finals.
Saudi Arabia have already beaten Jordan in the reverse fixture, taking a 2-0 win away from home, and they will be confident of securing another result here and ending the group undefeated.
As for Jordan, they looked unlikely to finish in the top two after their opening games in the group as they drew with Tajikistan and were defeated by Saudi Arabia in their first fixtures, leaving them in third place.
Two comfortable victories against Pakistan saw them climb back into second after Tajikistan failed to capitalise on their early advantage, and a vital 3-0 win against Gela Shekiladze's team saw Jordan confirm their place in the top two last time out.
Houcine Ammouta's side head into this one with the chance of topping the group if they take three points against the current leaders, and with their only defeat in the last seven matches coming against Qatar in the final of the Asian Cup they will be confident of securing the three points.
Jordan have enjoyed this fixture in recent years, winning two of the last three meetings, and they have not lost away from home against Saudi Arabia since a 2-1 defeat in March 2015.
Team News
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Firas Al-Buraikan scored twice in the 3-0 win over Pakistan last time out and the striker is expected to start as the striker once again for Saudi Arabia.
Captain Salem Al-Dawsari has featured in all of the previous three matches in the group and is expected to lead Saudi Arabia out for the final match in round two.
Musa Al-Taamari has five goals from five games in the group stage, leaving him two behind top scorer Son Heung-Min, and the striker is likely to lead the line here.
Yazeed Abulaila has been an ever-present in goal for Jordan and has kept three clean sheets from the five matches, and Abulaila is expected to start in goal once again in this one.
Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:
Al-Owais; Hamed, Lajami, Kadesh; Al-Ghannam, Aljuwayr, Mukhtar, Al-Harbi; Ghareeb, Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan
Jordan possible starting lineup:
Abulaila; Nasib, Alarab, Al Ajalin, Al-Mardi; Haddad, Al-Rashdan, Al-Rawabdeh; Al-Taamari, Al-Naimat, Olwan
We say: Saudi Arabia 1-1 Jordan
Saudi Arabia may have secured a 2-0 victory from the reverse fixture between these two, but Jordan were unlucky not to get anything from that game as they dominated with 56% possession and 10 more shots than their opponents.
We expect this one to be much more even between the two sides, and we predict that this game will end all square.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
Iran
Kyrgyzstan
North Korea
Qatar
UAE
Uzbekistan
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Palestine
South Korea
Australia
Bahrain
China
Indonesia
Japan
Saudi Arabia
