Now, with Claudio Ranieri about to take over in Rome, who knows how things could look in a few months. But at the moment, it seems as if the Socceroos' transition may have already taken place. So that's how things are looking for the Socceroos after four ...

The top two teams in Group C secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while third and fourth place go into the next round of qualifying. It only magnifies the importance of Thursday night’s crunch clash with the Saudis at AAMI Park, then the away match against Bahrain four days later in Riffa.

The Socceroos face Saudi Arabia on Thursday night, with both teams gunning for automatic qualifying into the 2026 World Cup in North America. Watch selected NRL, AFL, SSN games plus every F1 qualifying session and race live in 4K on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

Australia and Saudi Arabia meet in Melbourne on Thursday night in a crucial World Cup qualification match. Both sides are level on five points in their group, with Australia holding a slightly better goal differential. ABC Sport will be live blogging the World Cup qualifier between Australia and Saudi Arabia from 7pm AEDT.