WC within reach as Asian qualifying ramps up

Son's South Korea will face Palestine, while Japan set to take on China

HONG KONG:

Son Heung-min's South Korea face Palestine while Japan host old rivals China when the third round of Asian qualifying kicks off on Thursday with the 2026 World Cup tantalisingly close.

The expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is looming into view.

The 18 remaining sides in Asia are divided into three groups of six and will play home and away fixtures, with the top two from each pool guaranteed a place at the World Cup.

South Korea will aim to put a turbulent year on and off the pitch behind them with a fast start against the Palestinians in Seoul in Group B.

Iraq, Oman, Kuwait and Asian Cup runners-up Jordan are the other sides in the group.

Skipper Son will undoubtedly be the Koreans' biggest threat but Hong is also looking to the future, giving a first call-up to exciting attacker Yang Min-hyeok.

The 18-year-old will join Son at Premier League Spurs in January.

"We won't have much time to practise before these qualifying matches," said Hong, who first coached South Korea at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they went out in the group phase.

"For us to take the next step, we'll have to work even harder, and it's important to keep developing young talent in order to be more competitive at the World Cup."

While the Koreans will expect to reach the World Cup for the 12th time, Palestine are making their debut at this stage of qualifying, despite the conflict in Gaza.

Under their Tunisian coach Makram Daboub, Palestine reached the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup for the first time at the start of this year.

Daboub's side went down to Qatar in the last 16 and the hosts went on to beat Jordan in the final to retain their continental crown.

Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts, are in Group A and start the latest qualifying round home to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

Qatar and Iran will be favourites to qualify from a group that also includes Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.