South Korea has qualified for a 10th successful World Cup, after beating Dubai 2-0 on Tuesday.
Goals in the second half by Kim Jin-su and Kwon Chang-hoon gave the Koreans a comfortable victory over the bottom team in the qualification of Group A of Asia.
South Korea is 11 points away from the third-ranked United Arab Emirates, which has only three games left.
The top two teams from each of the two groups qualify automatically. The teams in third place advance to the playoffs.
Ten in a row # World Cup tournaments! @KFA , #WCQ pic.twitter.com/SPzIEzlvuP
– FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 1, 2022
In Group B, a goal in the first half put Takumi Minamino Japan on the road to defeating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at Saitama Stadium and keeping the hosts on course for a seventh consecutive World Cup appearance.
FT: Syria 0-2 Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea go to the 2022 # World Cup, The Taeguk Warriors confirm their place in the @fifaworldcup to a comfortable win over Syria in Group A! #Asian Qualifications , #SYRvKOR pic.twitter.com/U6Gf8RBVzs
– # WAC2022 (@afcasiancup) February 1, 2022
Minamino’s goal from close range after 31 minutes was scored by Junya Ito. The Belgian winger then added the second to shortly after the restart with a foul shot from the edge of the area to seal a first defeat for the Saudis in the group.
FT | Japan 2-0 Saudi Arabia
A goal in each half sees the Samurai Blue climb within 1⃣ point of place in group ️❗️
#Asian Qualifications , #JPNvKSA pic.twitter.com/zBzAUWN30K
– # WAC2022 (@afcasiancup) February 1, 2022
Saudi Arabia, which would have qualified for a sixth World Cup with a victory, still leads the group with 19 points, one more than Japan. Australia would advance to 17 with a win over Oman later Tuesday.
The last place Vietnam, which had previously lost all seven of its matches in Group B, defeated China 3-1 in Hanoi. The defeat ended China’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the second time.