Jordan & Uzbekistan Make History with First World Cup Qualification

Photo: AFP

Jordan and Uzbekistan made history on Thursday by qualifying for the men’s FIFA World Cup finals for the first time ever. South Korea also confirmed their spot, marking their 11th straight appearance in the tournament.

Uzbekistan played to a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, which was enough to secure second place in Group A behind Iran. This guaranteed them an automatic spot in the 2026 World Cup with one game left to play. The team celebrated the achievement, especially praising goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov for his key saves during the match.

Now, Uzbekistan and Jordan join Japan, New Zealand, Iran, and Argentina as teams that have qualified for the World Cup. Co-hosts USA, Canada, and Mexico are already qualified.

In the same group, the UAE and Qatar (who beat Iran 1-0) finished third and fourth. They will move on to the next qualification round, where six teams will compete for the last two spots from Asia.

In Group B, South Korea beat Iraq 2-0 to confirm their place in the tournament. Iraq played most of the match with 10 men after Ali Al-Hamadi received a red card in the first half. Kim Jin-Gyu scored first for Korea, and Oh Hyeon-Gyu added a second goal near the end.

Earlier, Jordan defeated Oman 3-0, with all three goals scored by Ali Olwan. This win also secured Jordan a top-two finish and their first-ever World Cup spot.

Palestine kept their hopes alive for reaching the next round by beating Kuwait 2-0.

In Group C, China was knocked out of the competition after a 1-0 loss to Indonesia. Ole Romeny scored the only goal of the match from a penalty in the first half. This means China will miss out, with their only World Cup appearance remaining in 2002.

Australia scored a dramatic 1-0 win over Japan thanks to a last-minute goal by Aziz Behich in Perth. Riley McGree set him up with a great pass. This was Australia’s first win over Japan in 16 years. Now, they’re very close to qualifying again. They just need to avoid losing by five goals or more in their final game against Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia had a 2-0 win over Bahrain, but Kyrgyzstan is out of the race after a 2-2 draw with North Korea.