South Korea, Jordan, and Uzbekistan 'Enters Main Line'...China Loses to Indonesia 'Out'
South Korea, Jordan, and Uzbekistan 'Enters Main Line'...China Loses to Indonesia 'Out'
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While the Korean soccer team has confirmed its advance to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times, Jordan and Uzbekistan have also passed the final preliminary round in Asia, creating a new history of advancing to the World Cup finals for the first time. China, however, failed to win a ticket despite the expansion of countries that advanced to the finals, losing face to 1.4 billion people.
South Korea, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, won 2-0 at 3:15 a.m. on the 6th, thanks to Kim Jin-kyu's first goal (18th minute in the second half) and Oh Hyun-kyu's additional goal (37th minute in the second half) in the ninth away match of Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup, which was held at the Basra International Stadium in southern Iraq with more than 65,000 spectators. South Korea, which secured 19 points with five wins and four draws, secured its 11th consecutive World Cup qualification, regardless of the result of the final 10th match between Kuwait and Seoul.
South Korea won three consecutive draws and secured a ticket to North Korea and the U.S., following Japan and Iran, which confirmed their advance to the World Cup finals in March, with nine consecutive matches unbeaten. Hong Myung-bo went on an away trip to Iraq for the first time in 35 years after a friendly match (0-0 draw) in Baghdad in February 1990, overcoming extreme conditions and earning the expected points, drawing the result. South Korea won 3-2 against Iraq with Oh Se-hoon, Oh Hyun-kyu and Lee Jae-sung's consecutive goals in a home game held in October last year.
Korea will make it to the World Cup finals for the 12th time in its history, including the 1954 event in Switzerland, which marked the 11th consecutive time since the 1986 Mexico Games and the first time for the team to participate in the event. Coach Hong Myung-bo's mercenary skills have shone all through. Moon Seon-min and Kim Jin-gyu, who were deployed as a substitute in the second half, collaborated to score the first goal. Kim Jin-gyu was replaced by Park Yong-woo at the beginning of the second half, and Moon Seon-min was replaced by Hwang Hee-chan at the 16th minute of the second half. Just two minutes after the substitution was introduced, Moon penetrated the left section with his signature high speed, serving as a starting point for the first goal.
South Korea's Kim Jin-gyu scored the first goal with a right-footed shot after receiving a pass from Lee Kang-in in the 18th minute of the second half. South Korea started to secure victory with an additional goal from Oh Hyun-gyu, who was helped by Jeon Jin-woo in the 37th minute of the second half. After receiving Hwang In-beom's pass, Jeon Jin-woo assisted Oh Hyun-gyu's goal, scoring his first offensive point in his debut match.
Iraq, which sought to win by replacing its coach in preparation for the match against Korea, failed to overcome the numerical inferiority caused by Ali al-Hamadi's exit in the 24th minute of the first half and failed to gain three points, ranking third in the group with three wins, four draws, two losses, and 13 points. Iraq will play in the fourth playoff qualifying round, in which players ranking up to fourth in the group will participate. Jordan beat Oman 3-0 to maintain the second place with four wins, four draws and one loss, and 16 points, and confirmed its advance to the finals regardless of the remaining results. Palestine and Oman, which beat Kuwait 2-0 will face off in the final match for the remaining one playoff spot.
After a scoreless draw with the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan secured a berth to the finals along with Iran in Group A of the preliminary round. UAE and Qatar, which defeated Iran 1-0 in Doha, advanced to the playoffs. Two tickets to the finals are at stake in the fourth preliminary round. 메이저놀이터
Australia are close to qualifying after beating Japan, which has already clinched qualification in Group C, 1-0. They are a strong candidate to join. Australia has 16 points, three ahead of Saudi Arabia, which beat Bahrain 2-0. But Saudi Arabia is on a four-goal deficit and needs to win Tuesday's match.