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Asian Football Confederation: Australia's men's football head coach Tony Popovic has named an extended 26-man squad on Sunday for the final fixtures in the third round of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Australia currently sits second in Group C with 13 points from eight games and will play first-placed Japan in Western Australia on Thursday and third-placed Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on the following Tuesday.

The top two-ranked teams will qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup and a win against Japan would guarantee qualification for the Socceroos. If the Australians are beaten by Japan in Perth, a draw against Saudi Arabia would likely be enough to finish second in the group because of the Socceroos' current three-point and goal difference advantage.