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| The match between South Korea and Jordan in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 25th. Coach Hong Myung-bo is disappointed as it ended in a 1-1 draw. Suwon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.03.25/ |
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| Asian Football Federation SNS Capture |
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When I opened the lid, Group B, which belongs to the Korean national soccer team A, was 'Death Group'.
As of the 25th and 26th, the 8th match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup is completed, the point difference between the lead and fourth place in Group B is only six points and two games apart. In Group C and Group A, four teams are closely attached to each other compared to the gap between the first and fourth places with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Group B is the only group that failed to produce an early advance team to the World Cup until March. Group C Japan (20 points) won the 7th game and Group A Iran (20 points) won the 8th game.
Hong Myung-bo's plan was also to advance early in March, but the steps were twisted as they drew 1-1 against Oman (20th, Goyang) and Jordan (25th, Suwon) in two consecutive A-match home games in March. In the match against Jordan on the 25th, Lee Jae-sung took the lead with an early first goal in the 5th minute of the first half, but after giving up the equalizer to Mahmoud Al Mardi in the 30th minute of the first half, he was criticized for his performance that was close to a rough match. "I didn't get it exactly, but I think there's something that the players feel a lot of pressure and can't focus on," Hong said about the slump, which has only three consecutive games, especially one win (three draws) in four home games. Captain Son Heung-min reiterated the need to improve the home game environment.
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| The match between South Korea and Jordan in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 25th. Yang Min-hyuk is waiting for the pass. Suwon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.03.25/ |
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| The match between South Korea and Jordan in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 25th. Son Heung-min, who missed the opportunity to make a comeback, is disappointed. Suwon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.03.25/ |
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It is highly likely that 'home 2 smoke' will be a 'fatal hit' for Korean soccer, which is seeking to advance to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times. If Iraq, which plays the Palestinian away game after confirming the results of the Korea-Jordan match, wins three points, Korea (16 points), Iraq (15 points) and Jordan (13 points) could be tied within three points. This inevitably increased the burden of the Iraq expedition in June.
In the Palestinian-Iraq war, which I watched with anxiety, a miraculous thing happened. Iraq led 1-0 in the first half with Ayman Hussein's first goal in the 34th minute of the first half in Amman, Jordan, which is a neutral place. However, in the 43rd minute of the second half, when the victory was imminent, Abu Ali scored an equalizer and lost 1-2 to Amid Mahazna in the 7th minute of extra time in the second half. Palestine (six points), which was the lowest, jumped to fifth place, leaving a chance to advance to the fourth qualifying round (third to fourth place in the group), while leaving a big gift for Korea.
Some soccer fans agreed that Palestine has returned the favor to South Korea. In September last year, South Korea drew 0-0 with Palestine after a rough match at home in the first round of the third qualifying round. In November of the same year, they also drew 1-1 in an away match against Palestine. Palestine is the only team that Hong Myung-bo did not win in the third qualifying round. Two points, or about 33.3% of the six points Palestine won in eight games, were won against South Korea. Without those two points, World Cup hopes would have disappeared.
South Korea is able to prepare for the June A-match with more leeway. He will win the World Cup ticket just by drawing in an away match in Iraq on June 5. This is because with one remaining game left, the difference of four points from third-place Iraq is maintained, securing at least second place. Even if they lose to Iraq, they will be given another chance. Jordan and Iraq are scheduled to clash in the final match of Game 10, so they will go to the World Cup even if they win one point at home against Kuwait on June 10.
The question is 'Essential Competitiveness'. Hong Myung-bo has lost points in the last five consecutive games, and his performance is on the decline as time goes by. In this two consecutive games, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) was dropped due to injury, and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) were injured while playing. Captain Son Heung-min said "I'm not a coach, but I think there will be players who experience it in Europe, and I think they can definitely grow if they play more games. The same goes for me. I'm still learning every moment and every day. I think it would be nice to show you how I have improved in the World Cup."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
