Hong Myung-bo, who achieved a "great achievement" without being shaken by the scuffle in the stands and storming the stadium
Hong Myung-bo, who achieved a "great achievement" without being shaken by the scuffle in the stands and storming the stadium
Blog Article
The South Korean national soccer team won the away match in Iraq and confirmed its advance to the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup finals. The best scenario was achieved without being shaken even in chaotic situations, such as scuffles in the stands and spectators storming the stadium.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, defeated Iraq 2-0 with consecutive goals by Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai) and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) in Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup at Basra International Stadium in Iraq at 3:15 a.m. on the 6th (Korea time).
Korea, which has 19 points (5 wins and 4 draws) with the victory, widened the gap with third-ranked Iraq (12 points) to seven points and confirmed its advance to the World Cup finals regardless of the result of the final qualifying match against Kuwait on the 10th. It is the 11th consecutive time that Korean soccer has advanced to the World Cup finals since the 1986 Mexico World Cup. This is the sixth great achievement not only in Asia but also in the world.
The achievement was achieved by overcoming all the difficult conditions such as the chaotic situation in Iraq, unilateral cheering of 50,000 spectators, and a heat wave with a midday temperature approaching 45 degrees Celsius.
According to the Korea Football Association, scuffles broke out in the stands and spectators stormed into the stadium twice during the match. Despite such unstable circumstances, the national team did not get carried away by the atmosphere but focused on the match, ultimately securing a win and qualifying for the World Cup finals. On the contrary, Iraq lost its chance to advance to the World Cup finals. The national team headed to the locker room right after the match just in case.
Of course, it was not an easy match. Before the match, Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) was excluded from the entry list without being listed as a substitute due to injury. Despite having a numerical advantage due to the opponent's exit in the middle of the first half, the team finished the first half without scoring a goal. In the first half alone, Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) had bad luck hitting the post one after another.
However, 먹튀검증 Kim Jin-gyu, who was substituted in the second half, scored the first goal at the 18th minute of the second half after receiving a pass from Lee Kang-in to break the balance. In the 37th minute of the second half, Oh Hyun-gyu (Henk), who received assist from Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk Hyundai) for his A-match debut, scored a net goal to secure a 2-0 complete victory. Korea was also ahead 13-5 in the number of shots fired with a whopping 75.7 percent of ball possession. The number of shots fired on the day was 7–2, five more.