Group A final match once morest UAE today
Undefeated in all matches, trying to achieve first place in the group
The Korean national football team, led by coach Paulo Bento, will play Group A of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian Final Qualifier once morest the UAE at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, UAE on the 29th at 10:45 pm (Korean time).
South Korea and Iran have already won tickets to the World Cup finals, which are given to the second place in each group. South Korea won the home match once morest Iran 2-0 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 24th and are in the first place in Group A (23 points, 7 wins, 2 draws).
Although the goal of qualifying for the 10th consecutive World Cup has been achieved, Bentuho wants to defeat the UAE on an away trip and finish the final qualifier as group 1st. If Korea does not lose once morest the UAE, it will be the first time since the 2010 World Cup final qualifiers in South Africa that it will be undefeated in all matches. Among the 12 countries participating in the Asian final qualifiers, Korea is the only team that has not lost.
However, in order to preserve the ‘pride’ of the group, a victory once morest the UAE is necessary, not a draw. As Korea and Iran are only 1 point difference, if Korea cannot beat the UAE and Iran defeats their opponent Lebanon in the 10th game, the rankings might be reversed once more.
The UAE is ranked 69th in the FIFA World Rankings, which is lower than Korea (29th). Korea has the upper hand with 13 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses from 20 matches, and in their most recent match, in their 5th match once morest the UAE in November last year, they won 1-0 thanks to Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty kick winning goal.
However, this is an opponent that cannot be easily seen in the 10th game. The UAE is ranked 3rd in the group with 2 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses (9 points) in the final qualifying round. The third-place team in Group A will face off once morest Australia, the third-placed team in Group B, for a place in the intercontinental play-off (PO). The UAE’s last hope, which has not been able to go straight to the finals, is the playoffs, with Iraq in 4th place (8 points, 1 win, 5 draws, 3 losses) and 5th place Lebanon (6 points, 1 win, 3 draws and 5 losses) threatening the place. . The UAE, which can secure third place on its own by defeating Korea, is expected to engage in an all-out war.
With some players leaving Korea due to COVID-19 and injuries, the key is to maximize their power. Midfielder Hwang In-beom (Rubin Kazan) was unable to join the national team due to a fractured toe, and Kim Jin-gyu, Baek Seung-ho (above Jeonbuk), and Jo Kyu-seong (Gimcheon) were diagnosed with Corona 19 and were canceled. Won Doo-jae (Ulsan), who was selected as a substitute, also injured his shoulder during training and returned to his team.
/yunhap news
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