Australia and Saudi Arabia are two of the big teams in the Asian Football Confederation trying to move forward in the World Cup qualifying matches by winning on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Japan’s plan to progress got postponed as North Korea canceled a match in Pyongyang.
After losing 1-0 to Japan in Tokyo last week, North Korea said they couldn’t host the return match.
FIFA, the governing body of soccer, canceled the game because North Korea couldn’t find another place to play, and there wasn’t time to reschedule it. North Korea will likely be penalized with a 3-0 loss.
North Korea has won only one out of three games in Group B so far. Japan, on the other hand, has won all three games.
The top two teams from each of the nine groups will move to the next round. In Asia, eight teams will get a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Saudi Arabia, like Japan, has won all their games and could advance to the next round if they beat Tajikistan again in Group G.
“We know that Tajikistan is a strong team and has been improving,” said Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini. “It will be a tough game for us, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Australia also has nine points and can move forward from Group I with a win over Lebanon in Canberra. The match was supposed to be in Beirut, but due to security issues, Lebanon stayed in Australia after losing 2-0 in Sydney.
Qatar, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates also have maximum points and are close to moving to the next stage. However, South Korea drew 1-1 against Thailand. This was South Korea’s first game since Jürgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach. They will play Thailand again in Bangkok.
“We have to approach the game calmly and with one mind,” said South Korea’s interim coach Hwang Sun-hong. “We know what we need to do, and will do our best.”
Son Heung-min scored for South Korea last week, making it his 45th goal for the team. “I hope he breaks my record quickly as he will continue to do well in the future,” said Hwang, who retired in 2002 after playing more than 100 games for South Korea’s national team.
South Korea is leading Group C, three points ahead of Thailand and China. China drew 2-2 against Singapore last week.
“We had a good situation in the first half, but I told the players that 2-0 was a dangerous score,” said China’s coach Branko Ivankovic. “We were prepared to take three points but we only took one and now we are looking forward to the next match. We know what we have to do.”
