China is also angry at AFC's all-time fraud, and suddenly opposes chaos as it pushes Qatar + Saudi World Cup

Jul 12, 2025

China is also angry at AFC's all-time fraud, and suddenly opposes chaos as it pushes Qatar Saudi World Cup
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There is a strong backlash over the venue for the 4th Asian qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup in North Korea and the U.S.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on its official website on the 11th (Korea time) the venue, date of the fourth qualifying round for the World Cup in Asia, and the draw port.

In the third qualifying round, the third and fourth-place teams of each group, Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will once again try to advance to the finals through the fourth qualifying round. The fourth qualifying round will be held from October 8 to 14. Each group will be played in a single round-robin format, with the host country confirmed last month as the Qatar Football Association and the Saudi Arabian Football Association, it said.




The criteria for allocating the draw are based on the FIFA men's rankings for AFC countries, which were specially announced by FIFA on June 13. The participating countries are assigned to three ports as follows. However, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are automatically assigned to different groups,' he explained, adding that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were assigned to Port 1, Iraq and the UAE to Port 2, Oman and Indonesia to Port 3.

China is also angry at AFC's all-time fraud, and suddenly opposes chaos as it pushes Qatar Saudi World Cup
사진=What's going on Qatar
There are two controversial issues here. The first is to select the venue. Since Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been selected as hosts, critics say they are trying to send a country with Middle East oil money to the World Cup. The reason is that the 2023 AFC had originally said it would host the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament in the country with the best performance in the third qualifying round.

According to that standard, the fourth qualifying round should be held in Iraq and the UAE, but AFC was suddenly awarded the hosting of the fourth qualifying round. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Indonesia have also applied to host the fourth qualifying round. AFC explained that it decided Qatar and Saudi Arabia to host the event based on FIFA rankings in each country's infrastructure.




However, considering FIFA ranking is also controversial. FIFA announced its rankings in April and then there was no announcement until July. However, the AFC explained in June that FIFA referred to a special announcement for Asian countries. Based on the FIFA rankings, which were scheduled to be released in July, critics say that it is because Saudi Arabia was overturned by Iraq and its ranking was pushed back.
China is also angry at AFC's all-time fraud, and suddenly opposes chaos as it pushes Qatar Saudi World Cup
사진=AFC
Regarding this, Wang Yi of China said, `At this critical point, AFC suddenly intervened and caused confusion. AFC is trying to guarantee Qatar and Saudi Arabia's advance to the finals even by breaking the rules they set themselves. The rule was that the countries that will host the fourth qualifying round should be the two countries that performed best in the third qualifying round. The AFC ignored these rules and designated Saudi Arabia and Qatar directly as the hosts of the fourth qualifying round. The AFC did not offer any explanation for this absurd decision, he said.

Fans are also criticizing that it should have been held in a third country, not in the fourth qualifying round. This is because no country can compete fairly without enjoying a home advantage. AFC seems to be inescapable of criticism for supporting the Middle East.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.