Today's Edition
FRANKFURT (dpa)
Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified for the football World Cup for the first time, and South Korea have also booked their place.
A 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Thursday was enough for the central Asian nation to be assured of a top-two finish in their qualifying group and entry to next year's finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Jordan won 3-0 at Oman but it took South Korea's 2-0 in Iraq to see
them through to the June 11-July 19, 2026, finals. South Korea also
qualified with their victory.
Asia now have eight direct slots for the World Cup due to its
expansion from 32 to 48 teams. So far qualified apart from Thursday's trio, and the directly entered three co-hosts, are title holders Argentina, New Zealand, Iran and Japan.
Australia are also all but through after a 1-0 win over Japan. They
are second in their group, three points and eight goals ahead of
Saudi Arabia with one game left.
