South Korea Qualifies for 10th Straight World Cup
Second-half goals from Kim Jin-su and Kwon Chang-hoon gave the Koreans a comfortable victory over the bottom team in Asia Group A qualifying.
South Korea, the 15th nation to qualify for the 32-team field, moved 11 points clear of third-place United Arab Emirates with two games remaining.
Iran, which has already qualified, beat the UAE 1-0 to remain atop Group A. Iran last week became the first team from Asia to qualify for Qatar when it beat Iraq 1-0.
The top two teams from both groups automatically qualify. The third-place teams advance to playoffs.
In Group B, a first-half goal from Takumi Minamino set Japan on the way to beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at Saitama Stadium and keeping the host on course for a seventh successive World Cup appearance.
Minamino’s goal from close range after 31 minutes was created by Junya Ito. The Belgian-based winger then added the second soon after the restart with a fierce shot from the edge of the area to seal a first defeat for the Saudis in the group. Read More…
