Unexpected events continued. While Korea had a “sweat draw” with Palestine, the lowest ranking team in the group, Indonesia led by coach Shin Tae-yong secured its first historical win against Saudi Arabia, reviving the hope of advancing to the fourth round of qualifying. The United Arab Emirates led by Paulo Bento defeated Qatar, the Asian Cup champion, 5-0, by banking on Fabio Lima’s “over hat trick (four goals).” Japan delivered a 3-1 victory over China, which had been gaining momentum with two consecutive wins after three consecutive losses.
The sixth round of Group A, B and C of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, which took place across Asia on the 19th and 20th, excited fans with a tremendous upset and thrilling victory. As soon as we entered the second half of the third qualifying round in the survival race of 10 games per team, the competition for ranking was fierce to advance to the fourth qualifying round, which will lead to the playoff stage, as well as the direct ticket to the finals, which will be given to the first and second place in the group.
South Korea played a “return match” in Amman, Jordan, against the Palestinians, who drew 0-0 in the first round of their home game in Seoul in September, but only drew 1-1 again. It was expected that the eventful last A-match of 2024 would be the “Five-match winning streak finale,” but it ended up regretfully failing to subdue the Palestinian fighting spirit. “Captain” Son Heung-min played full-time and scored his 51st A-match goal in two consecutive games, rising to second place alone in South Korea’s personal most goals scored.
The United Arab Emirates, which had a 5-0 victory over Qatar, moved up to third place in Group A, chasing second-place Uzbekistan by three points. Iran came from behind to win 3-2 over Kyrgyzstan and maintained its top position in Group A with 16 points. Japan, led by Moriyasu Hajime, maintained a solid advantage in Group C, overpowered China 3-1 and also gained 16 points. In the third qualifying round, six teams from the first and second places in the group will win direct tickets to the finals, and six teams from the third and fourth places in the group will advance to the playoffs, where two tickets are on the line. 스포츠토토
◆ ‘Full Time’ Son Heung-min scored his 51st A-match goal in two consecutive games, ‘Yuan’… Jordan also plays 1-1 with Kuwait
Amman, Jordan, was in poor grass condition. Due to Palestinian reasons at war, South Korea, which had Game 6 in the neutral zone of Amman, Jordan, struggled just like its first home game, failing to achieve the “five-game winning streak” that it had hoped for. Hong Myung-bo, who had been on a four-game winning streak, showed his will to win by banking on his starting 11th win against Kuwait, which had a 3-1 victory, but the situation did not turn out as expected. The team ended up with a two-game draw with the Palestinian team, which is its weakest team.