Group A
Uzbekistan 1-0 Korea DPR
Uzbekistan had goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov to thank as his first-half penalty save preserved a 1-0 win for the hosts. The White Wolves took the lead midway through the opening period when Jaloliddin Masharipov swept home from eight yards out after a well-worked one-two with Sherzod Nasrullaev. Kuk-Chol Kang was then handed a gilt-edged chance to level matters from the spot just before the break, but Yusupov guessed right and pushed his penalty to safety. The result takes Uzbekistan’s unbeaten FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers streak to seven games.
Group B
Korea Republic 0-0 Palestine
Palestine battled hard to secure an impressive point against Korea Republic in Seoul. Korea boast a formidable home record, having not lost a World Cup qualifier on their own turf since suffering 1-0 defeat against IR Iran in June 2013. Son Heungmin and Co could not find a way past Palestine, however, who will surely take huge confidence from a resilient, determined performance.
Group C
Australia 0-1 Bahrain
Bahrain struck late to record a shock win over Australia on the Gold Coast. With the Socceroos reduced to 10 players after Kusini Yenhi was sent off 13 minutes from time, the away side took full advantage to kick off their round three campaign in style. The game’s decisive moment came in the 89th minute when Mahdi Humaidan’s cross was diverted into his own goal by the unfortunate Harry Souttar. Bahrain then saw out six minutes of stoppage time to seal a first-ever victory over Australia.
Japan 7-0 China PR
A rampant Japan swept aside China PR in Saitama. Headed efforts from Waturu Endo and Kaoru Mitoma put the Samurai Blue 2-0 up by half-time. A pair of superbly taken goals from Takumi Minamino shortly after the break took the game away from China, before Junya Ito’s deflected shot made it 5-0. Daizen Maeda got Japan’s sixth, before Takefusa Kubo’s powerful strike rounded off a scintillating performance from Hajime Moriyasu’s team.
How qualifying works
Asia has been allocated eight direct spots at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and another potential berth via the FIFA Play-Off Tournament. In this, the third, round of qualifying the continent’s remaining 18 nations were divided into three groups of six. The group winners and runners-up advance to the global finals, while the third-place and fourth-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.
