The strength of Japan and Iran
Away from home, Japan beat China 3-1, with striker Koki Ogawa scoring a brace. Notably, all three of the visitors' goals were headers. This victory helped Japan stay firmly at the top of Group C with 16 points, nine points ahead of second-placed Australia.
This result helps the Japanese team secure a ticket to the 4th qualifying round, although there are still 4 matches left in the 3rd qualifying round. More importantly, it helps coach Moriyasu's team take another step forward on the journey to win a ticket to the 8th consecutive World Cup.
He admitted that Japan could qualify for the World Cup in March 2025, when the team will face Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at home. In the first leg, Japan defeated these two opponents with a score of 5-0 and 2-0 away.
In Group A, Iran and Uzbekistan have also secured tickets to the 4th qualifying round. They are ranked 1st and 2nd in the group with 16 and 13 points respectively. However, their goal is to get tickets to the 3rd qualifying round soon. In March 2025, Iran will have 2 home matches, against the UAE and Uzbekistan respectively. This will be an opportunity for them to get tickets to the US, Mexico and Canada soon.
In Group B, the Korean team has also secured a ticket to the 4th qualifying round, when leading the group with 14 points/5 matches. Son Heung-min and his teammates were held to a 1-1 draw by the Palestinian team, but that only reduced their morale somewhat. The Korean team still has many opportunities to soon win 1 of the 2 tickets in the group to the 2026 World Cup. The remaining spot is the competition of Iraq, Jordan, and Oman.
Bright World Cup opportunity for Indonesia team
After the 6th round, no team has been officially eliminated. However, in Group A, the DPRK (2 points) and Kyrgyzstan (3 points) are clearly out of breath compared to the other teams. They do not have much chance to compete for a ticket to the World Cup, even getting a ticket to the 4th round is very difficult.
Similarly in Group B, Palestine (3 points) and Kuwait (4 points) are also at a disadvantage to qualify for the next round. If there are no unexpected developments, South Korea and Iraq will qualify for the World Cup in this group; while Oman and Jordan will advance to the fourth round.
In Group C, Indonesia has a very bright chance to qualify for the World Cup. They have 6 points, ranking 3rd in the group, only 1 point behind second-placed Australia. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China also have 6 points.
With the gap between the teams being so small, the competition for the ticket to the next round after Japan will be very attractive. Indonesia will open up a great opportunity if they defeat Bahrain and China at home. This is within the reach of Shin Tae-yong and his team, as they are still improving day by day.
