China eliminated from World Cup contention. Uzbekistan and Jordan qualify for the first time

China slumped out of World Cup contention before Uzbekistan and Jordan qualified for the first time, taking advantage of Asia getting double the number of guaranteed entries at the first 48-team tournament in North America next year.
Asian soccer power South Korea sealed an 11th straight appearance at the men's World Cup finals with a 2-0 win in Iraq.
In a hectic night Thursday with a lot on the line, Australia scored late to edge already-qualified Japan 1-0 before China lost 1-0 in Indonesia.
For Uzbekistan, a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates was enough to take the second automatic qualification spot in Group A behind Iran.
With Asia now having eight guaranteed qualifiers — after just four for the 2022 edition in Qatar — Uzbekistan was a likely contender to step up. While most of its team plays in the domestic league, it includes a few Europe-based stars like Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov and Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
In Group B, South Korea and Jordan secured their places at the 2026 tournament to be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Ali Olwan scored three goals in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman as the soon-to-be World Cup debutant built on reaching the final at the 2023 Asian Cup, where it lost to host Qatar. Jordan's highest-profile player is winger Mousa Tamari at French club Rennes.
In Group C, a first-half penalty from Ole Romeny in Jakarta was enough to end China's chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 2002, when the tournament was staged in Asia for the first time and co-hosts South Korea and Japan didn't have to go through continental qualifying.
It's a mystery to many how a country of 1.4 billion people with such a pedigree in Olympic sports struggles so much to reach soccer's marquee event.
Branko Ivankovic, a Croatian with international experience in Iran and Oman, was hired last year to guide the Chinese men's team and domestic news agency Xinhua said the head coach took some of the responsibility for another failed campaign.
'This team has been fighting for this goal for over 20 years. We believed that if we could reach the next stage from this tough group, we would have a strong chance of qualifying," Ivankovic said, according to Xinhua. "But we didn't succeed and, as head coach, I definitely bear significant responsibility.'
With one game remaining in this round of Asian qualifying, China has won only two of nine games and is bottom of the group that also contains Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Indonesia.
'We've brought in a younger generation of players who have injected energy into the team,' Ivankovic said. 'Based on their performances, I believe this team has a promising future."
In Abu Dhabi, Uzbek fans celebrated together at the end and had goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov to thank for a number of important saves.
As well as the six automatic qualifiers from Asia — two from each of the three groups in this stage — UAE and Qatar, which defeated the already-qualified Iran 1-0, will finish third and fourth and advance to the next stage in Asian qualifying. Six teams will compete in the next stage for two more places at the 2026 World Cup.
South Korea clinched top spot in its group, helped by Ali Al-Hamadi's first-half red card for a high kick.
Kim Jin-gyu put the Koreans ahead just after the hour, and the victory was sealed by Oh Hyeon-gyu eight minutes from the end. the result ensured Jordan could finish no worse than second.
The Palestinian team stayed in contention for the top four with a 2-0 win over last-place Kuwait, one point behind fourth-place Oman.
Australia moved to the cusp of qualifying for a sixth consecutive World Cup with a last-minute goal from Aziz Behich in Perth.
In the 90th minute, Riley McGree broke free down the right and pulled back for Behich to curl home to bring Perth Stadium to its feet and give Australia its first win over Japan in 16 years.
'It hasn't sunk in just yet but when the final whistle went it was a great feeling,' Behich said. 'It was a tough game and we had to grind it out. It's been a long campaign and we have worked so hard.'
To secure that spot Australia needs to avoid a heavy loss next week at third-place Saudi Arabia, which had a 2-0 win over Bahrain.
soccer: /hub/soccer

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Mint

41 minutes ago

• Mint

Sachin Tendulkar says Jasprit Bumrah's 9-fer spoiled due to poor Indian fielding

Jasprit Bumrah has undoubtedly been the best bowler from the both teams during the ongoing India vs England 1st Test match. Despite taking a fifer in the first innings, however, the pacer has been let down by his fellow teammates who dropped 3 catches that could have piled up his wickets tally even further. With the fifer on Sunday, Bumrah also went past Pakistani great Wasim Akram who held the record for most wickets by an Asian pacer in the SENA coutnries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia). While Bumrah was the sole wicket taker for India during Day 2 of the match, he got some quality support on Day 3 as Prasidh Krishna made a comeback to take three wickets while Mohammed Siraj also clinched 2 scalps. Congratulating the Indian pacer in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Tendulkar wrote, 'Congratulations Bumrah! A no-ball and 3 missed chances stood between you and 𝙣𝙖𝙪 wickets.' Notably, Bumrah had dismissed Harry Brooks in the receding hours of Day 2 but later the umpire revealed that the bowler had overstepped the crease and the dismissal stood as void. Subsequently, Brook - who was on his debut for the national Test team - went on to score 99 runs before being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna. Speaking at a press conference after the end of play on Day 3, Bumrah said, "You have to move forward with the game. So that's what I look to do. Not to take it too far in my head and try and quickly forget it because all of them are also new to the game, first time over here, sometimes the ball is difficult to sight. And nobody is dropping the catches purposely. Everybody's trying really hard. It does happen. So I don't want to create a scene or put more pressure on the fielder that, you know, I'm angry, I'm kicking the box or I'm doing something."

First Post

an hour ago

• First Post

Jasprit Bumrah defends Yashasvi Jaiswal, Indian fielders despite multiple catch drops: 'Guys are new and working so hard'

While many might have expected Jasprit Bumrah to be livid with his fielders, the experienced pacer's response surprised many and underscored why he remains such a vital member of the team. read more Jasprit Bumrah has surprised the experts with his reaction to the catch drops by Indian fielders. Image: AP Jasprit Bumrah has come out in defence of Indian fielders after he suffered a horrific outing on Day 2 and 3 of the ongoing Headingley Test, dropping at least five catches as England scored 465. With the help of Indian fielders, England batters cut down the deficit to just six runs despite Bumrah taking a fifer . Three catches were dropped off Bumrah's bowling, including two from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a horrible time at gully, and one by the veteran Ravindra Jadeja. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Bumrah defends Indian fielders Nonetheless, Bumrah defended his fielders, saying that they are not dropping catches 'intentionally.' 'I am disappointed for a second when catches are dropped. It's part and parcel of the game, and the guys are new and working so hard. I don't want to create a scene and put more pressure on them. Nobody is doing it intentionally. So they will learn from this experience," Bumrah said. Also Read | Yashasvi Jaiswal sets unwanted record for dropped catches The 31-year-old pacer added that he tries not to dwell too much on dropped catches and moves on quickly. 'Sometimes the cold makes it difficult to catch. I try not to let it affect me and move forwards quickly.' Record-breaking fifer for Bumrah While Bumrah took five wickets, the rest of the Indian bowlers had a very tough time. Prasidh Krishna leaked runs at an economy of 6.4 despite taking three wickets and Mohammed Siraj at 4.5 (he took two wickets.) Jadeja went wicketless and Shardul Thakur was only used for six overs. With his latest five-wicket hail Bumrah became the first Asian bowler to claim 150 Test wickets in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia). He also equalled R Ashwin's record for the most five-wicket hauls in the World Test Championship — both now have 11, though Bumrah reached the mark in just 36 matches compared to Ashwin's 41. Also Read | India still in control, but costly errors raise questions as England stay alive at Headingley Additionally, Bumrah became the first Indian bowler to take three five-wicket hauls in England and matched Kapil Dev's record of 12 five-fors in overseas Tests. The former captain is not expected to play at least two matches in the five-match series due to his back issues, which will come as a big blow for India. But Bumrah added that he doesn't think about the future during a match. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During the game, he is only focused on outsmarting the batters. 'No. You don't look at what is going to happen in the future,' Bumrah said. 'You are there in the ground, in the moment. You have to do a job. At the moment, I'm trying to assess the wicket. I'm trying to assess what is happening. What are my options? How is the wicket behaving? Who is the batter here? What is he thinking? How do I outsmart him? What does the team require? 'I look at all of those things at that moment. I was not thinking about what will happen. How many games am I supposed to play at this moment? Focusing on the Test match. When the match is over, then you think about all these combinations.'

India Today

an hour ago

• India Today

Hope Jasprit Bumrah remains injury-free: Hussain likens India pacer to Shane Warne

Former England captain Nasser Hussain hailed Jasprit Bumrah as an absolute genius, comparing his ability to bamboozle opposition batters to that of spin legend Shane Warne. He also expressed hope that Bumrah stays injury-free so that the cricketing world can enjoy his brilliance for years to Bumrah returned to Test cricket much like he had left it—leading the Indian attack and posing the biggest threat with the ball. Coming back from a stress reaction in his previously operated back, there had been serious concerns about whether he had been overbowled and how well he would recover. But at Headingley, Bumrah quickly put those doubts to rest, once again establishing himself as the standout bowler on the once again underlined why he is considered the best fast bowler in the world at present, producing a masterful five-wicket haul to hand India a slender edge in the opening Test against England at Headingley. "Hopefully he stays injury free and we talk about him for years to come. There are two brilliant things to watch in cricket — a wrist spinner like Shane Warne bamboozling batters and a genuine fast bowler like Bumrah bamboozling batters," Hussain said on Sky former England captain also noted that while Bumrah's unique action isn't something young cricketers should attempt to emulate, it works perfectly for him."He is absolute genius. That is the only word for him. You wouldn't want to replicate him, you wouldn't want to say to young boys and girls to go replicate this run-up or this knows what he is doing, he has perfected an art and he is going to be a thorn in England's side — not for five Tests, maybe three. In those three Test matches he is going to take a shed load of wickets," Hussain was a lone warrior on Day 2, claiming all three wickets that fell as England slowly built their innings. On Day 3, he finally received some support — Prasidh Krishna picked up three wickets while Mohammed Siraj added two. However, both bowlers were inconsistent, leaking runs and allowing England to stay within striking distance of India's formidable first-innings the Leeds Test, Jasprit Bumrah surpassed Wasim Akram to become the highest wicket-taker among Asian bowlers in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia), taking his tally to 150-four more than the legendary Pakistani FIVE-WICKET HAULS FOR INDIA AWAY FROM HOMEJasprit Bumrah - 12Kapil Dev - 12Anil Kumble - 10Ishant Sharma - 9R Ashwin - 8After posting 471, India saw their advantage narrow as England responded with 465 — driven by Ollie Pope's composed 106 and Harry Brook's flamboyant 99. Brook, dropped multiple times, capitalised on each chance before falling short of his century while attempting a stylish finish. With England's tail wagging dangerously, Bumrah returned for a decisive final spell, clean bowling Chris Woakes and then removing Josh Tongue to complete his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests. You May Also Like