Palestinians face one of Asia’s toughest tests to start third round of World Cup qualifying
China get their campaign under way against Japan in what is considered the toughest qualifying group of the round
The Palestinian team is closer to the World Cup than ever after reaching the third round of qualifying in Asia as one of the top 18 on the continent.
On Thursday, the next phase starts with one of the toughest possible assignments in Asia, with the Palestinians taking on South Korea in front of 66,000 fans in Seoul.
South Korea have qualified for the past 10 World Cup tournaments, and were semi-finalists in 2002.
The top two from each of the three groups in the Asian qualifier will claim six of the eight spots allocated to the Asian Football Confederation at the 2026 World Cup. The teams that finish third and fourth will go into a fourth round to compete for two more spots.
“Our goal is to be among the first four teams in the group, and we are capable of that,” Makram Daboub, head coach of the Palestinian team, said. “I’m very happy to have reached this important stage, and I am very proud of the players, and it is the result of teamwork.”
Facing South Korea and English Premier League talent such as Son Heung-min is a different challenge for the team ranked 96 in the world.
