2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Korea Faces Iraq with Young Stars Bae Jun-ho and Lee Seung-woo; Key Matchup at Yongin Mir Stadium

World Cup 3rd Qualifying Round 4th Match at Yongin Mir Stadium at 8pm on the 15th
There is interest in ‘young blood’ such as Bae Jun-ho and Lee Seung-woo instead of Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan.
Iraq ‘top goalscorer’ Hussein warning… 2 consecutive games without conceding a goal

National football team coach Hong Myung-bo supervises players’ training at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 14th, the day before the 2026 North, Central America World Cup Asian Division 3rd Group B 4th match against Iraq. 2024.10.14. Newsis Hong Myung-boho, who are trying to progress to the finals of the World Cup for the 11th time in a row, will face Iraq tonight, which is considered the biggest obstacle the Asian region qualifying area.

Korea national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, will play a home match against Iraq in the 4th match of Group B of 2026 FIFA North Korea, Central America Asia 3rd qualifying round at Yongin Stadium Mir in Gyeonggi- do at 8pm on the 15th.

After a terrible start with a 0-0 draw in the first home game against Palestine last month, Hong Myung-Boho won 3-1 in the second away game against Oman, then won 2-0 in the third away game against Jordan on. 10th and first in Group B (7 points, +4 goal difference).

They have the same points as Iraq, who are second in the group (7 points, +2 goal difference), but are ahead in goal difference.

If they beat Iraq at home, they can maintain their position going forward to the finals of the North America, Central America World Cup. In the third preliminary round, the first and second place winners in the group advance directly to the World Cup finals.

As for the national team, ‘captain’ Son Heung-min (Tottenham) was not called up due to a hamstring injury (muscle behind the thigh), and forwards Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Uhm Um-seong (Swansea City) were injured in the match against Jordan, so Lee Seung-woo and Moon Seon-min (Jeonbuk) ) were selected as replacements.

Although problems are expected due to the departure of key players, the performance of ‘young blood’ such as Oh Hyun-gyu (Genk) and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), who performed better than expected as a team, is expected – center in the game against Jordan.

Also, there is interest in whether the player Lee Seung-woo from FC Barcelona (Spain), who wore Taegeuk’s symbol for the first time in 5 years and 4 months, will get a chance.

Seungwoo Lee has 11 goals and 5 assists in K League 1 this season.

The Iraq match will be held at the Yongin Mir stadium, leaving the Seoul World Cup Stadium, which was used as the home stadium, due to turf issues.

This is the first time that a men’s A football match is being held at the Yongin Mir Stadium, where the grass is in good condition.

Iraq, ranked 55th in the FIFA rankings, is one step below Korea (23rd), but has great potential, including defeating Japan 2-1 in the group stage of the Asian Cup Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Qatar earlier this year.

In particular, senior striker Ayman Hussein (Al-Kor), who has scored 28 goals in 77 international matches, is regarded as ‘one to watch’.

In the last Asian Cup, he competed for the top scorer with 5 goals in 4 games until the round of 16, and at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he played as a card- wild, he scored 2 goals in the group stage.

As for Hong Myung-soo, the quality of central defender Kim Min-jae (Munich), who took over as interim captain in place of Son Heung-min, is expected to be a key variable in covering Hussein. to decide the game.

It is also interesting that the Spanish coach Jesus Casas, who was announced as a candidate for the Korean head coach, is at the helm.

In the historical record, Korea is ahead of Iraq with 9 wins, 12 draws, and 2 losses. Their last loss was in the final preparation round for the Olympics in Los Angeles in April 1984 (loss 0-1), and they haven’t lost in 40 years.

Before the Iraq match, coach Hong Myung-bo said, “The victory against Jordan gave me confidence,” and expressed his intention, “We have to get results somehow.”

Kim Min-jae also said, “We must pay attention to Hussein’s air superiority,” and added, “We will communicate with our colleagues to stop it.”

Coach Casas said, “Korea is a great team. “This is a team with good players,” he said, “Iraq will be a challenge and a difficult game.” “In some ways, it will be a good test match,” he said.

[용인=뉴시스]