South Korea, March 25 (Yonhap/APP): South Korea were held by Jordan 1-1 at home Tuesday for their second consecutive draw in the ongoing World Cup qualification round, failing to step toward an early berth in the big tournament after squandering a first-half lead.
Lee Jae-sung had the match’s first goal for South Korea in the fifth minute at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, in the Group B match in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification. But Jordan equalized in the 30th minute on Mahmoud Al-Mardi’s strike, and the two sides couldn’t solve the deadlock over the next 60-plus minutes.
South Korea’s final two matches of the third round will be against Iraq on June 5 in Basra and Kuwait on June 10 at home.
There are three groups of six in this round, and the top two from each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Teams ranked third and fourth will move on to the fourth round.
With the draw, South Korea managed to stay atop Group B with 16 points, three ahead of Jordan. Iraq, with 12 points, were to play Palestine early Wednesday morning in South Korean time.
A combination of a South Korean win and an Iraqi loss or a draw against Palestine later Tuesday would have sent South Korea to the World Cup with two matches left in the current round.
South Korea played without two national team mainstays in Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae, who was dropped from the national team on March 15 due to left Achilles tendinitis, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in, who was sent home Saturday after injuring his left ankle against Oman two days earlier.
Feyenoord midfielder Hwang In-beom drew back into the lineup Tuesday after being held off the squad list against Oman. After missing about a month with a mysterious injury, Hwang was banged up in his first match back for the Dutch club on March 16, forcing Hong to keep Hwang out last week as a precaution.
In the absence of PSG’s Lee, Lee Dong-gyeong of Gimcheon Sangmu FC got the start for his first international appearance since September last year.
Captain Son Heung-min got the start for his 133rd international cap, tying him with former goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae for third place on the all-time South Korean rankings. Son is now three back of the two co-leaders, current national team head coach Hong Myung-bo and former striker Cha Bum-kun.
South Korea had a much better start than they did against Oman last Thursday, when they didn’t register a shot attempt until Hwang Hee-chan scored in the 41st minute.
The home side opened the scoring with a well-executed set piece five minutes into Tuesday’s match, when Lee Jae-sung volleyed home a Son Heung-min corner. Lee had also scored against Jordan in South Korea’s 2-0 win in October.
Son nearly picked up his second assist with a corner seven minutes later, when Cho Yu-min’s header sailed just over the crossbar.
Jordan did not put much pressure on South Korea early on but equalized at the half-hour mark after a dangerous foray into the attacking zone.
Goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo made a stop on Mousa Al-Tamari’s shot from the right side of the box, but the rebound landed on Mahmoud Al-Mardi on the opposite side. Al-Mardi’s right-footed shot struck the arm of defender Kwon Kyung-won and slightly changed direction en route to the bottom right corner.
South Korea had a couple of close calls to retake the lead, with Cho’s second header set up by Son’s corner going over the bar in the 32nd minute and Hwang Hee-chan denied by goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila from close range in the 37th minute.
Queens Park Rangers midfielder Yang Min-hyeok replaced Lee Dong-gyeong at the start of the second half, making his national team debut at age 18. Yang had a shot go off an opposing defender moments after the restart but was otherwise held in check.