The fifth round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, with a number of exciting clashes taking place tomorrow, Thursday and the day after tomorrow, Friday.
With the qualifiers drawing to a close, there is still a lot to play for, and in this context, the AFC website takes a look at the position of the teams in the three groups ahead of the next round of matches .
In Group A, Iran and Uzbekistan enter the fifth round knowing that if both win their matches, it will move them to confirm their place in the 2026 World Cup finals.
Both teams have 10 points, with Iran leading on goal difference.
Iran’s national team, led by coach Amir Qalinovi, will meet its host, North Korea’s national team, in Vientiane, while Uzbekistan’s national team, which hopes to have coach Sreshko Katanic ‘ bench after missing the last two games due to illness, will travel to Doha to face Qatar, while the national team will host the UAE vs Kyrgyz national team in the third game of the group.
Iran, who beat Qatar 4-1 in the fourth round, will be confident of three more points, while anything less than victory for North Korea means their dream of finishing in one of the first or second places (which means automatic qualification. ) it will definitely end.
The situation is similar for Qatar with a loss to Uzbekistan and a win by Iran means the two-time Asian Cup champions are nine points behind the top two with just four rounds remaining.
The UAE side, who also have four points, will be determined to stay in the race by beating Kyrgyzstan.
It will not be an easy task as Kyrgyzstan, who still have little chance of qualifying, have been a tough team to crack.
In the second group matches, South Korea will regain the services of their star, Son Heung-min, after he missed the last two games due to injury, and the East Asian team is looking forward to continue what he started.
The South Korean national team have achieved two wins against Iraq and Jordan, to go three points clear at the top of the Group B table, and the South Korean national team will be determined to avoid defeat when they travel to Kuwait while as they are trying to show. in the World Cup finals for the eleventh time in a row.
But the Kuwaiti national team must win as it is currently six points behind South Korea and four points behind Jordan and Iraq.
For its part, the Jordanian team will face its Iraqi counterpart in a clash where the winning team will advance with three points over the losing team, which could be decisive in the race to get one of the to get first or second place in the second group. .
Oman’s national team will host their Palestine side with the aim of recovering from their defeat against Jordan, as both sides realize that anything less than victory could mean the end their dreams of reaching the World Cup finals.
In Group C, the Japanese national team is trying to maintain their lead in Group C when they travel to face Indonesia, where the match will be held on Friday at the majestic Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
The East Asian team’s winning streak ended after a 1-1 draw with Australia in the fourth round, but its five-point lead at the top means it is comfortably on course for the eighth consecutive appearance in the FIFA World Cup finals.
For its part, Indonesia, who opened their first appearance in the third round of the Asian Games with three draws, suffered a 2-1 defeat to China in the fourth round, and coach Shin Tae-yong’s side will look forward to achieving a historic milestone. victory in front of the local fans.
Taking just one point out of a possible six for Saudi Arabia from the last two rounds saw the departure of Italian coach Roberto Mancini, with Hervé Renard returning as the Saudi’s technical director. Green, and the French coach will try to make a strong position. start when the team travels to West Asia against Australia.
With both teams, along with Bahrain, with five points, the confrontation at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium will be exciting, especially since Australia, in which Tony Popovic took over the technical leadership after being appointment to replace Graham Arnold, four points from the last two. matches to return to the race anew.
Bahrain, who have not won since beating Australia in the first round, will be hoping for a better result when they host China, but the East Asian side will be just as determined after snapping a three-match losing streak to break by defeating Indonesia in the fourth round.
2024-11-13 10:31:00
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