The AFC completed its mission and "guaranteed" Saudi Arabia and Qatar to enter the World Cup. Even though everyone was angry, they could not change the script.

In the early morning of October 15th, the top six matches of the fourth phase of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers ended. In the two direct dialogues that decided the fate of qualifying, Qatar defeated the UAE 2-1, while Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Iraq. In the end, the two hosts Saudi Arabia and Qatar ranked first in their groups and jointly advanced to the World Cup main rounds; the UAE and Iraq, second in the two groups, will compete for qualifications for the intercontinental play-offs through two rounds of play-offs.

Before the final round, Qatar, which drew with Oman in the first round, had no way out and could only advance directly by defeating the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia's situation was relatively favorable. They shared 3 points with Iraq and had the same goal difference. However, with their goal advantage, they only needed a draw to qualify. In the end, both Saudi Arabia and Qatar achieved the desired results.

This top six tournament has been controversial since the preparation stage. The AFC has been accused of clearly favoring Saudi Arabia and Qatar in terms of venue selection, schedule arrangement and referee selection. There have been constant criticisms that the two teams will be "walked out". And the final result will only make critics believe that their own point of view is correct.

Before the start of the top six, Oman coach Queiroz publicly questioned why the AFC did not choose a neutral venue, but instead allowed Saudi Arabia and Qatar to enjoy the home court advantage. After the match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Iraq coach Arnold also criticized the competition arrangement, saying that he had "never seen such an unfair qualifying system in many years." Arnold revealed that when he was coaching the Australian team, he had been told that the play-offs would not be held at the home stadium of the participating countries, but would be held in Malaysia, but he later made a temporary change. Arnold will coach the Iraq team from May 2024, and previously served as the head coach of the Australian team from July 2018 to September 2024.

Playing at home naturally has a huge advantage. In the match between the UAE and Qatar, the visiting team’s UAE fans were only allocated 8% of the stadium’s seats. UAE coach Olaroyu was also very dissatisfied, stressing that every team should have equal opportunities, and pointed out that the solution is simple - set the game at a neutral venue.

In addition, the selection of referees for the two games of the Saudi team also caused controversy. In the first game against Indonesia, the AFC assigned a referee team from Kuwait to officiate. Given that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are neighboring countries and have close relations in the fields of politics, economy, culture and sports, the AFC's arrangement has raised questions about its neutrality. Indonesia wrote to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation before the game to protest the referee selection and request a replacement, but received no response. Indonesian team official Sumarji said: "We hope to have a truly neutral referee, preferably from Europe or other regions that have nothing to do with regional interests."

In Saudi Arabia's second game against Iraq, Jordanian referee Mahamadma took charge, and the two assistant referees and the fourth official were also from Jordan. Although they are both Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are both Sunni, while Iraq is dominated by Shia. There have been long-term historical conflicts between the two sects, so this arrangement is difficult to escape doubts.

Although the Qatar team has won two consecutive Asian Cup championships, the overall strength of the Qatar team has declined significantly in recent years as core players such as Afif and Moez Ali have increased in age, and as the Asbair Youth Academy has failed to continuously deliver strong newcomers. The team lost five of the ten games in the top 18 and only narrowly qualified for the top six in fourth place in the group. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar were tied in Group A of the Round of 18. The United Arab Emirates not only defeated Qatar 3-1 away from home, but also beat their opponent 5-0 at home. The situation between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia is similar. When they were both in Group C in the top 18, Indonesia achieved an unbeaten record of 1 win and 1 draw against Saudi Arabia. Therefore, if Saudi Arabia and Qatar do not occupy the right time and place at this stage, there may still be many variables in the final qualifying result.

Despite constant doubts, the fact that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have qualified is impossible to change. The AFC, which remained silent in the face of public opinion from beginning to end, can be considered to have "completed the task brilliantly." The script has already been written and protesting is useless.