Saudi Arabia’s path to 2026 World Cup starts in qualifying group with Jordan and Tajikistan

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s path to the 2026 World Cup in North America will start in a first qualifying group with neighboring Jordan, Tajikistan and either Cambodia or Pakistan. The Saudi national team upset eventual champion Argentina 2-1 to open last year’s tournament in Qatar. Its players will now prepare for the next World Cup training and playing with global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the multi-billion dollar Saudi league. The top two teams in each of nine qualifying groups advance to the next Asian group stage.