Saudi Arabia qualified for its third straight World Cup with a 4-1 victory over Thailand on Sunday.

The Saudis made next year's tournament in Japan and South Korea through a combination of their victory in Riyadh and Bahrain's 3-1 win over Iran.

Iran could have qualified from its Asian group with a win in Bahrain. Instead, it will face United Arab Emirates in an Asian playoff.

The winner plays Ireland for a spot in the 32-nation World Cup. China already has qualified from Asia.

Tens of thousands of Saudis poured into the streets to celebrate, honking car horns and dancing. Police kept the jubilant crowd in check. There were no reports of violence.

Saudi Arabia led 1-0 at halftime. Scoring for Saudis were Abdullah al-Sheehan, Abdullah al-Jamaan, Sami al-Jaber and Ibrahim Mater. Boliban scored for winless Thailand.

Bahrain broke to a 2-0 lead on goals by Abdullah Abdul Rahman and Hussein Ali Ahmed. Iran's Ali Daei tapped in the ball in the 81st minute with Bahrain a man down. Bahrain's Mohammed Hussein Mohammed completed the scoring in injury time.

As they were leaving the field, the Bahraini players raised the Saudi flag, acknowledging Saudi Arabia's qualification.

Defending champion France and hosts South Korea and Japan automatically qualified for the World Cup. Croatia, Denmark, England, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden have qualified from Europe. Four more European teams will advance.

In Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia are in. The United States and Costa Rica have advanced from their region, with one more to qualify.

Argentina is the only South American team to advance, but at least three more will do so. The fifth-place team in the South American group plays Oceania champion Australia for another berth.