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North Korea suffered a defeat against the UAE. Photo: Reuters . |
Fabio Lima opened the scoring for the UAE in the 5th minute at the neutral Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (Saudi Arabia), giving the visitors a significant advantage. However, North Korea fought back and equalized before the end of the first half through Kim Yu-song. Just when it seemed the match would end in a draw, Sultan Adil Alamiri shone in the 90+8 minute, securing a dramatic victory for the UAE.
This result officially eliminates North Korea's chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Coach Sin Yong-nam's team has dropped to the bottom of Group A with only 2 points after 8 matches. The team has yet to win a game, drawing 2 and losing 6.
North Korea is also the first team in the Asian region to be eliminated from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, even though they still have two matches left in the third round of qualifiers.
On the opposite side, a 2-1 victory against North Korea helped the UAE consolidate their third place in Group A with 13 points after eight matches. The team is now in a favorable position to continue their pursuit of a World Cup 2026 qualification spot.
Also in Group A, Kyrgyzstan, ranked 107th in FIFA, caused a surprise by crushing Qatar 3-1 on March 25th. This was the first time Kyrgyzstan had beaten Qatar in history, and it kept alive their faint hopes of making it into the play-off group.
Conversely, Qatar's hopes of securing a direct qualification spot for the 2026 World Cup are almost gone, as they are now 6 points behind Uzbekistan.
In this group, Iran became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after a 2-2 draw against direct competitor Uzbekistan. This marks the seventh time in history that the country has participated in the biggest football event on the planet.
Source: https://znews.vn/trieu-tien-het-co-hoi-du-world-cup-2026-post1540866.html
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