South Korea qualify for 2026 World Cup with 2-0 win over 10-man Iraq

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM SOUTH KOREA 2-0 WIN OVER IRAQ TO QUALIFY FOR WORLD CUP

(RESENDING WITH SHOTLIST)

SHOWS: BASRA, IRAQ (JUNE 5, 2025)(AFC - See restrictions)

SOUTK KOREA (RED JERSEYS) AT IRAQ AT BASRA INTERNATIONAL STADIUM - WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCH

1. MATCH OFFICIALS AND PLAYERS WALKING ONTO FIELD BEFORE START

2. FANS IN STANDS WITH LARGE IRAQ FLAGS

3. PLAYERS WALKING ONTO FIELD

4. SOUTH KOREAN PLAYERS AND FLAG DURING ANTHEM

5. VARIOUS OF IRAQ FANS AND PLAYERS DURING ANTHEM

1ST HALF

6. SOUTH KOREA'S CHO YU-MIN IS KICKED IN THE FACE BY IRAQ'S ALI AL-HAMADI

7. SLOW MOTION REPLAY OF AL-HAMADI KICKING CHO YU-MIN IN FACE

8. REFEREE GIVING AL-HAMADI RED CARD IN 26TH MINUTE

2ND HALF

9. GOAL - SOUTH KOREA'S LEE KANG-IN WITH PASS TO KIM JIN-KYU WHO SCORES PAST IRAQ GOALKEEPER JALAL HASSAN IN 63RD MINUTE. SOUTH KOREA 1-0 IRAQ

10. REPLAYS OF LEE KANG-IN PASS TO KIM JIN-KYU FOR GOAL

11. GOAL - SOUTH KOREA'S SE-JIN JEON WITH CENTERING PASS TO OH HYEON-GU WHO SCORES PAST IRAQ'S HASSAN IN 82ND MINUTE. SOUTH KOREA 2-0 IRAQ

12. REPLAYS SE-JIN JEON CENTERING PASS TO OH HYEON-GU FOR GOAL

13. SOUTH KOREA'S OH HYEON-GU HELPING IRAQ PLAYER UP JUST AFTER REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE TO END MATCH. SOUTH KOREA WIN 2-0

14. IRAQ'S MOHAMMED QASIM MAJID AFTER LOSS

15. IRAQ MANAGER GRAHAM ARNOLD GREETING SOUTH KOREA MANAGER HONG MYUNG-BO AFTER MATCH

16. SOUTH KOREAN PLAYERS AFTER WIN

STORY: Regular qualifiers South Korea booked a spot Thursday (June 5) in the 2026 North American World Cup with a 2-0 win over Iraq in Basra.

Kim Jin-gyu and Oh Hyeon-gyu were on target in the second half for the Koreans against 10-man Iraq and that win not only secured qualification for Hong Myung-bo's side from Group B but confirmed Jordan would also progress.

In other Asian action, Uzbekistan qualified for the first time in the expanded 48-team finals with a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates, which guaranteed Timur Kapadze's side a top two finish in Group A of the preliminaries alongside already-qualified Iran.

The west Asians had beaten Oman 3-0 earlier in the evening through a hat-trick from Ali Olwan, but Jamal Sellami's side had to wait for the outcome of Iraq's meeting with the Koreans before being able to celebrate their World Cup berth.

Australia also stand on the cusp of a place at the finals after Aziz Behich scored the only goal in his side's 1-0 win over Japan in Perth in Group C.

Victory keeps Tony Popovic's side three points clear of Saudi Arabia, who won 2-0 against Bahrain in Riffa, with one game to play.

Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a win that put Australia's celebrations on hold until the two nations meet in Jeddah on Tuesday.

But Australia's vastly superior goal difference means they can lose that meeting with the Saudis by up to four goals and still advance to a sixth consecutive World Cup finals as second-placed finishers behind the Japanese.

Uzbekistan goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov made a string of second-half saves in Abu Dhabi to frustrate the UAE and earn his nation their first World Cup qualification since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The draw means the UAE will now progress to the fourth round of qualifying as the point earned guarantees a third- or fourth-placed finish in Group A.

They will be joined in the next phase by 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, who managed a 1-0 win over 10-man Iran through Pedro Correia's 41st-minute close-range goal.

Indonesia guaranteed their involvement would also continue into the fourth round with a 1-0 win over China that ended the qualification hopes of Branko Ivankovic's side.

Ole Romeny's 45th-minute penalty separated the sides in Jakarta to ensure Indonesia would finish in either third or fourth place in Group C, thereby progressing to the next phase.

Goals from Tamer Seyam and Wessam Abou Ali kept Palestine's chances of going through to the next round intact, with a 2-0 win over hosts Kuwait moving Ihab Abujazar's side to within one point of Oman in fourth place in Group B.

The first two finishers in each of the three qualifying groups progress automatically to the World Cup while the teams in third and fourth advance to October's fourth round to battle for another two berths at the finals.

Kyrgyzstan will not be among those competing for the remaining slots after their 2-2 draw with North Korea in Riyadh ended their chances of going through to the fourth round.

(Production: David Grip)