The away match started off quite tensely, but the turning point came in the 24th minute when Iraq's A. Al-Hamadi received a straight red card after a dangerous tackle. Playing with one less player forced the home team to huddle together in defense, giving the game to South Korea.
It was not until the second half that the "Taeguk Warriors" took advantage. In the 63rd minute, Kim Jin-gyu unleashed a dangerous shot to open the scoring for Korea after a well-organized attack.
The pressure continued to mount on the Iraqi defense, and in the 82nd minute, Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the winner, sealing a 2-0 victory with a cool finish inside the box.
This victory helped South Korea increase their total points to 19 after 9 matches, thereby officially winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals with one match left to play. The Korean team continued to demonstrate the class and mettle of one of the continent's leading giants.
Meanwhile, this defeat means Iraq will lose their chance to qualify directly, but the West Asian team still has a great chance in the fourth qualifying round (play-off round).
1) Iran (Group A)
2) Uzbekistan (Group A)
3) Korea (Group B)
4) Jordan (Group B)
5) Japan (group c)
Teams that won tickets to the 4th qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia
1) UAE (Group A)
2) Qatar (Group A)
3) Iraq (Group B)
4) Oman (Group B)
5) Indonesia (Group C)
6) Saudi Arabia/Australia (Group C) (These two teams have already qualified but will meet in the final round to decide the last ticket to the World Cup)
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/han-quoc-chinh-thuc-gianh-ve-du-world-cup-2026-2408619.html
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