South Korea will compete in its 11th consecutive World Cup – the 12th in total.
Playing in Basra, Iraq, they defeated the home team 2 x 0 this Thursday (5) even without their star player Son Heung-min.
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Kim Jin-Gyu (63′) and Oh Hyeon-Gyu (82′) scored.
The match was part of the penultimate round of Group B in the final phase of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Such a result also ensured another historical achievement: the qualification of Jordan, which has never competed in a World Cup. It will be another debutant following Uzbekistan’s spot.
South Korea went to 19 points. The Jordanians reached 16 last Wednesday (4) and Iraq was left with 12 with only one round remaining.
The consolation for the Iraqi team (which had Al Hamadi sent off as early as 26′) is to be assured in the playoffs that will guarantee two more direct spots for the tournament in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
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Oman (ten) and Palestine (nine) will face off in the next round for the other group spot in the playoffs.
The dream was old…
Jordan has been seeking to compete in a World Cup since the Mexico edition in 1986. And it succeeded in its 12th attempt.
An achievement that comes right after the runner-up in the 2023 Asia Cup, when they eliminated favorite South Korea in the semis before falling to Qatar in the decision.
It had never achieved such a significant result.
Australia is almost there
Asia has eight direct spots for the next World Cup.
Six of them are given to the top two in each of the three groups in this phase.
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Five have already been filled, leaving only one.
Which is likely to be Australia’s.
On Monday (9), the Socceroos will visit Saudi Arabia in a comfortable situation.
They have 16 points, against 13 of the rivals in Group A.
The first tiebreaker is the goal difference.
Which is eight for Australia against zero for the Middle East team.
All countries already confirmed for the next World Cup:
United States
Mexico
Canada
Japan
New Zealand
Iran
Argentina
Uzbekistan
South Korea
Jordan
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.