South Korea Qualifies for the World Cup; UAE in Third Place

The South Korean national team has qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the 11th time in its history, two rounds before the end of the first group stage in the Asian qualifiers, following a 2-0 victory over Syria today, Tuesday. South Korea has raised its total to 20 points in second place, two points behind Iran, which qualified for the finals last round and won 1-0 against its guest UAE today as well. The UAE remains at nine points in third place, three points ahead of Lebanon and four ahead of Iraq after both teams drew 1-1 in Sidon earlier today. Iran and South Korea have secured direct qualification spots for the World Cup this year in Qatar, while the UAE, Lebanon, and Iraq compete for the third spot that qualifies for the Asian playoff. Iran and South Korea qualified directly from Group A to the finals in Qatar, while the third-place teams from both groups will meet in an Asian playoff to determine which team will compete in the global playoff. Syria remains at two points from eight matches at the bottom of the standings.