Hong Myung-bo's "Will my nose break while I'm relieved" and in the worst case, "I can't guarantee that it will go directly to the WC finals."
Hong Myung-bo's "Will my nose break while I'm relieved" and in the worst case, "I can't guarantee that it will go directly to the WC finals."
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Up until right after the draw of the third qualifying round, the team seemed relieved. However, the team was in danger of losing its nose due to the reassurance.
The South Korean men's national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Gyeonggi Province at 8 p.m. on the 25th against Jordan in the eighth round of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup.
South Korea, which has four wins and three draws in seven games, has 15 points and goal difference +7. Jordan, which is ranking second, has three wins, three draws and one loss, 12 points and goal difference +6 points. Although South Korea is undefeated, it has yet to confirm its advance to the World Cup finals by giving up three draws to Palestine and Oman, including the draw against Oman on the 20th.
Still, if Korea wins this match, it is effectively akin to confirming its advance to the World Cup finals. If Korea wins, it will have 18 points in eight matches, while Iraq (12 points), which is ranked third, will have 15 points even if it wins its eighth match, while Jordan will have 12 points in third place.
In the third Asian qualifying round for the World Cup, the first and second places need to secure the second place because they have a ticket to the finals, but after beating Jordan, they can secure at least the second place on their own if they win one point in the remaining two games in June.
On the other hand, if South Korea loses, it will be tied with 15 points, but Jordan will inevitably be ahead of South Korea in goal difference, so Jordan will be able to surpass South Korea in first place unconditionally. In addition to South Korea's fall in second place, if Iraq, which is currently in third place with 12 points and +2 points, wins a great victory over Palestine, which is at the bottom of the list, and gives it a goal difference advantage with South Korea, it will be a possible scenario to fall in third place.
The fifth and sixth players in the third qualifying round will automatically be eliminated, while the third and fourth-ranked countries will play in the playoffs for 2.5 remaining tickets. It is best to advance to the World Cup finals as the first and second place, but if they lose to Jordan, it is hard to guarantee. This is especially true in that the next match of the third qualifying round, which will come back in June, is an away match against Iraq, which is a rival team for ranking teams.
Hong Myung-bo seemed to have an encouraging result in that he avoided powerhouses such as Qatar, Australia and Saudi Arabia, which participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, among the teams other than one port at the time of the third qualifying draw. 스포츠토토
However, in the worst case scenario, it is now impossible to guarantee a direct advance to the finals. In a crisis that can break one's nose if one feels relieved, he needs to win.