Korean football team advances to the third round with Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait｜Dong-A Ilbo

The South Korean national football team entered a relatively easy group in the third round of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup Asia qualifiers.

In the draw for the third round of the CONCACAF World Cup Asian qualifiers held at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 27th (Korea time), South Korea ranked ahead of Iraq (55th), Jordan (68th), Oman (76th), Palestine (55th) and Kuwait (137th).

South Korea ranked 22nd in the recently released FIFA rankings, following Japan (17th) and Iran (20th), and locked the top seed as the third best seed in Asia. South Korea defeated all tough opponents such as Australia, North Korea, the United Arab Emirates and China. But the variable is that it must frequently travel to the Middle East.

South Korea will play Palestine at home on September 5, Oman away on September 10, Jordan away on October 10, Iraq at home on October 15, Kuwait at home on November 14, and Palestine away on November 19. They will play Oman at home on March 20, 2025, and Jordan at home on March 25. They will then play a total of 10 games, including an away game against Iraq on June 5 and a home game against Kuwait on June 10.

Starting with the North and Central American World Cup, the number of participating countries has expanded from 32 to 48, and the number of World Cup tickets allocated to Asia is 8.5. The third round of qualifying for the North and Central American World Cup in Asia will be held, with 18 teams divided into 3 groups, 6 countries in each group, including the top 2 in each group, a total of 6 countries will directly advance to the World Cup finals.

The third and fourth place teams in each group of the third qualifying round will be divided into two groups of three countries and advance to the fourth qualifying round. The top two countries in each group will also advance to the World Cup. The second place teams in each group of the fourth qualifying round will play again, and the winning team will advance to the intercontinental play-offs.

2026 FIFA CONCACAF World Cup third qualifying round draw results

Group A – Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea

Group B – South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait

Group C – Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia

Dong-A Net reporter Song Chi-hoon sch53@donga.com