World Cup 3rd qualifying round ‘minefield’ watch

The problem is that it is not expected to be an easy schedule as the Middle East countries, which have recently risen, as well as North Korea, are lined up in each port.

Korea is ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings as of Sunday. According to the Korean men’s soccer world ranking announced on Sunday, Korea ranked third in Asia after Japan (17th) and Iran (20th), up one notch from March.

With this, South Korea confirmed the top seed in the third Asian qualifying round for the North and Central America World Cup, which starts in September.
The third qualifying round, in which 18 teams participate, will be divided into three groups of six teams, and up to the second place in each group will go straight to the World Cup finals.

With Japan, Iran, and South Korea among the first to be named in their respective groups, South Korea avoided Japan and Iran, which could be the toughest opponents in Asia.

However, it is too early to remain complacent. As Asian soccer moves upward, there is still a chance to meet tough teams.

Australia (23rd), Qatar (35th) and Iraq (55th) are in the second port, while Saudi Arabia (56th), Uzbekistan (62nd) and Jordan (68th) are in the third port.

The United Arab Emirates (69th), Oman (76th), and Bahrain (81st) are waiting for the fourth port, while China (88th), Palestine (95th), and Kyrgyzstan (101st). North Korea (110th), Indonesia (134th), and Kuwait (137th) are waiting for the last six ports.

Teams at two and three ports are lower than those of Korea in power and FIFA rankings, but they are capable of hitting Korea at any time. Notably, this could be a variable for Korea, which was particularly weak in away matches in the Middle East. Australia will also have to shoulder the burden of going long distances.

In the fourth pot is former coach Paulo Bento’s UAE, who led Korea to the round of 16 teams during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As the coach knows Korea well, he is a burdensome opponent. Oman and Bahrain are also capable of holding back Korea, which is seeking three points in away matches.

Five ports are less burdensome than other ports, but there is China that you want to avoid the most. China is weaker than Korea, but it is not easy to implement extremely defensive strategies such as the second A match in June. Moreover, there is also a risk of injury to the Korean team due to China’s tough soccer performance in away games.

In the 6th port, there is North Korea, where the South Korean team can feel the burden of away games, and even Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, who led the South Korean national team.

In other words, only Japan and Iran have been avoided, and there are countries in all ports that can harass Korea. If the worst group is formed, there may be a situation where it cannot be guaranteed to advance to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times.

Moreover, Korea’s current head coach is vacant. With Jeong Hae-sung as the head of the power enhancement committee, we are looking for a replacement for former German coach Jurgen Klinsmann, but even if he is appointed quickly, the new coach’s debut match will be the first match of the third qualifying round.

There is a variable that the third qualifying round, which requires a good first step, is the new coach’s first real game.

Commentator Han Joon-hee said in a telephone interview with Newsis, “The number of tickets to the World Cup has increased, but if you think the third qualifying round is the final qualifying round to advance to the finals, it is the same as before.” “If we fail to make a decision in the third round, we will have to go to the fourth qualifying round when others have a warm-up match for the World Cup.”

“So we must never let our guard down just because we have more tickets. (Unlike before, when there were two), the number of tough teams has increased as well,” he said. “We need to play in the third round of qualifying with the thought of ‘difficult’ as in the past (regardless of the number of tickets).”스포츠토토사이트

The draw for the third Asian qualifying round for the North and Central America World Cup will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the 27th.