China squeezed into the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite a 1-0 defeat at South Korea on Tuesday, with Indonesia also progressing on a night of drama.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in scored just after the hour in Seoul for South Korea, who were already into the next qualifying phase as group winners.
The damaging loss left China’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, but Thailand failed to take advantage as their dreams of progressing fell agonizingly short.
Photo: AP
They needed to beat basement side Singapore by three goals in Bangkok to leapfrog China into second place in Group C of the second qualifying phase, but the Thais could only win 3-1.
China and Thailand finished with the same number of points and same goal-difference, but the Chinese went through with a superior head-to-head record.
Some of the Thai players were in tears at the end.
Photo: AFP
In contrast to the crushing disappointment in Bangkok, Indonesia celebrated reaching the third qualifying round for the first time with a 2-0 home victory over the Philippines.
They joined Iraq in advancing out of Group F, with Thom Haye and Rizky Ridho the goal-scoring heroes in front of a raucous crowd of 64,000 in Jakarta.
Elsewhere, Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said that the third qualifying round would be “a completely different level” after thrashing Syria 5-0 to go through with a 100 percent record.
Moriyasu’s side completed the second qualifying stage on maximum points with 24 goals scored and none conceded after an easy win in Hiroshima, Japan.
Japan are looking to qualify for their eighth straight World Cup when the tournament takes place in the US, Canada and Mexico.
“We were facing a team that had to win, and the players got the result by working hard to prepare, doing the things that they had to do, but the final round coming up will be a completely different level from the second round,” Moriyasu said.
North Korea thrashed Myanmar 4-1 in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to leapfrog Syria and join Japan in moving out of Group B.
In Group D, Malaysia defeated Taiwan 3-1 at home, but it was not enough for them, as Kyrgyzstan had to lose to Oman seven goals and their game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Taiwan were at the bottom of the group after having lost all six of their matches.
In a dead rubber in Group I, Australia thrashed Palestine 5-0 in Perth with Portsmouth’s Kusini Yengi scoring twice, one from the spot. Both sides were already into the next phase.
Like Japan, Australia had maximum points in the second phase and did not concede a goal in six games.
In Group A, a late Eid al-Rashedi goal gave Kuwait a 1-0 win against Afghanistan, sealing their place in the next stage of qualifying at the expense of their opponents and India, who lost 2-1 to group-toppers Qatar.
India took a first-half lead, but goals inside the final 20 minutes from Yousef Aymen and Ahmed al-Rawi meant they remained on five points, two behind Kuwait.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS