Saudi Arabia and Qatar to host football World Cup playoffs

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Qatar will host the Asian qualifying playoffs for the 2026 World Cup, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday.

The third and fourth-placed teams from the qualifiers that ended last week -- Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and the UAE -- will form two groups of three teams and play from Oct. 8 to 14. The draw will take place on July 17.

Group winners will take the two remaining automatic places at the World Cup finals in the US, Canada and Mexico. The runners-up from each group will play two matches on Nov. 13 and 18, with the winners qualifying for the inter-confederation playoffs

Meanwhile this year's Saudi Super Cup featuring Al-Ittihad, Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr will be held in Hong Kong, football chiefs said on Friday. Matches will take place from Aug. 19-23 at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium.

"This represents a qualitative shift for the tournament, which has achieved remarkable success," Saudi Football Federation secretary general Ibrahim Al-Qassim said.