The Socceroos’ first steps en route to a sixth-straight World Cup have been revealed after they were drawn in a qualifying group with Palestine and Lebanon.

The winner of a two-legged playoff between the Maldives and Bangladesh in October will make up the fourth team in Group I after the draw was made at Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Graham Arnold’s men will play home-and-away fixtures from November to June next year and need only to finish second in their group to advance to the next round and also secure automatic qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

“Knowing our path to qualification now allows us to become much more specific with our planning and preparation in the lead up to November’s qualifiers against either the Maldives or Bangladesh,” Arnold said.

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“Both Lebanon and Palestine will pose stern opposition for us, particularly on the road in front of their passionate fans, so ensuring we make the most of our home matches will be key to qualifying top of the group.”

The 2026 World Cup tournament, which will be co-hosted by Canada, USA and Mexico, expands from 32 to 48 teams for the first time.

Asian nations are set to profit from the number of automatic qualification spots increasing for the World Cup from four to eight.

Australia’s first home qualifier will be against the playoff winner in November.

It then travels to face Palestine away in the same window before the focus turns to January’s Asian Cup in Qatar.

The Socceroos will face Lebanon in home and away fixtures in the March window before hosting Palestine, which looks to be their closest challengers to finishing top, in June.

Australia defeated Palestine in their last meeting at the 2019 Asian Cup but the nation has an impressive diaspora of talent to draw upon.

Lebanon has only played Australia once, with the Socceroos triumphing 3-0 in Tim Cahill’s farewell game in 2018.

-AAP