Despite missing injured Premier League stars Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, South Korea won 2-0 against Jordan, finishing at the top of their group in Asian World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
Son hurt his hamstring while playing for Tottenham in September, and Hwang, from Wolverhampton, had to leave the match after just 20 minutes in Amman.
In their absence, Lee Jae-sung scored the first goal with a header, and Oh Hyeon-gyu secured the victory after halftime, keeping South Korea on track for their 11th consecutive World Cup appearance.
“Son Heung-min is not playing in attack so we had a plan B,” said Korean coach Hong Myung-bo. “Hwang Hee-chan got off to a good start, but unfortunately got injured and had to leave the field.
Given his current injury status, it will be difficult for Hwang Hee-chan to play in the second game (against Iraq on Tuesday), but we will check on his condition.”
Jordan remains third in Group B, while Iraq is second, tied on points with South Korea after defeating Palestine 1-0 in Basra. Oman also won against Kuwait, finishing 4-0.
In Group C, Australia got back on track by beating China 3-1 in coach Tony Popovic’s first game in charge.
The Socceroos had only one point from their first two matches in September and faced a scare after 19 minutes at Adelaide Oval when Xie Wenneng scored, silencing most of the 46,000 fans.
Australia, aiming for a sixth straight World Cup, struggled to convert possession into clear chances, but just before halftime, Lewis Miller scored his first international goal with a header from Craig Goodwin’s free kick.
Goodwin then scored a stunning second goal from outside the box eight minutes into the second half, putting Australia ahead 2-1. Nishan Velupillay added a third goal in stoppage time on his debut, marking China’s third loss in three matches.
“We were close to a point in this game,” said China coach Branko Ivankovic. “So what we need to do now is to carry on … keep our passion and fight for our next game, which is really important. The real fighting is just about to start.”
Japan won 2-0 against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, remaining at the top of the group with three victories from three matches. Daichi Kamada from Crystal Palace scored from close range after 14 minutes, and Koki Ogawa added a late second goal with a header.
This result left Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Bahrain, who drew 2-2 with Indonesia, all with four points.
In Group A, leaders Uzbekistan and Iran drew 0-0 in Tashkent, with both teams having seven points. Saleh Hardani from Iran was sent off after 57 minutes.
The United Arab Emirates drew 1-1 with North Korea to stay in third place, while Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, earned its first win by defeating Kyrgyzstan 3-1, moving up to fourth place.
The top two teams from each of the three six-team groups will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the third- and fourth-place teams will advance to a fourth stage of qualification for Asia’s remaining two automatic spots.
