Round 3 heads into its final Matchday! | AFC Asian Qualifiers™ Road to 26 – Matchday 10 Preview

Just one automatic spot and one playoff berth remain at stake on the final matchday of the AFC Asian Qualifiers Road to 26 on Tuesday. It will be a straight fight between Saudi Arabia and Australia for the automatic ticket, while Palestine and Oman will slug it out for the playoff berth. The AFC.com previews Matchday 10, which will also feature several subplots, which guarantees a thrilling end to the AFC Asian Qualifiers Road to 26. Uzbekistan will look to bring the curtain down on their historic campaign with a victory against Qatar. The Central Asian side sealed an inaugural appearance at the FIFA World Cup with a goalless draw against the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, and will want to celebrate their qualification by putting on a show for their fans. Qatar will also be seeking victory ahead of continuing their campaign in the playoffs, where an additional two tickets to next year's global showpiece in North America will be at stake. Islamic Republic of Iran will be seeking victory to not only bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Qatar on Thursday, but also seal the group A top spot. UAE, having missed out on automatic qualification, will target maximum points against Kyrgyz Republic to finish third in the group. Jordan, having also sealed an inaugural FIFA World Cup appearance, will want to put on a show for their fans when they meet Iraq at the Oman International Stadium. Victory will cap an amazing period for Jordanian football, which saw them finishing runners-up in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 and sealing an appearance at the FIFA World Cup. They will fancy their chances against a heartbroken Iraq, whose hopes were ended by Thursday's 2-0 defeat to Korea Republic. Victory for Korea Republic confirmed an astounding 11th successive FIFA World Cup appearance and the Tiger Warriors will want to end their qualifying campaign with victory in front of their fans, especially as the win against Iraq was their first in four matches. The highlight in group B, however, will be the clash between Palestine and Oman, with a place in the playoffs at stake. Oman are ahead by a point but Palestine, making their debut at this stage of the AFC Asian qualifiers, are a team in form and back-to-back wins mean they will go into the tie confident of continuing their journey into the playoffs. Saudi Arabia will go into their tie against Australia, needing to win by five clear goals if they are to pit the Socceroos to the sole remaining automatic ticket to finals. A 2-0 win over Bahrain on Thursday meant Saudi Arabia stayed in the race, but Australia's 1-0 defeat of Japan would have been a body blow to Herve Renard's team. They will, however, be determined to fight till the end and with their fans roaring them on, Australia will do well to tread carefully. Japan will host a buoyant Indonesia, who confirmed their spot in the playoffs with a 1-0 win against China PR and will be relishing the prospect of taking down one of Asia's biggest teams. China PR and Bahrain will be playing for pride with both teams eliminated after underwhelming campaigns. The final matchday of the AFC Asian qualifiers rode to 26 promises, more thrills and spills, so stay updated on the action through the AFC's digital platforms. Don't forget to download the AFC Life app on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Life scores, results, news and more.