Jordan defeat Palestine in AFC World Cup qualifiers to pressure South Korea
Jordan beat the Palestinian national team 3-1 to consolidate the second qualification spot for the 2026 World Cup in Group B of the Asian qualifiers.
Yazan Al Arab opened the scoring in the third minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan's capital, with Abdallah Nasib doubling the advantage only eight minutes later.
Tamer Seyam pulled one back for Palestine just after the half-hour mark but Mousa Al Ta'mari completed the scoring and sealed the match for Jordan in the third minute of injury time in the first period.
The top two from each of the three six-team groups in the third round of Asian qualifying advance to the World Cup, while the third- and fourth-place teams advance to another stage to compete for two more places.
The result leaves winless Palestine, who qualified for the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for the first time in 2024, bottom of the table with three points from seven games.
They still have the chance to reach fourth-place which is currently held by Oman on seven points following their impressive 1-1 draw with South Korea in Goyang, just north of Seoul.
South Korea stay on top of the group and on course for an 11th straight World Cup appearance despite the dropped points.
Hwang Hee-chan put the hosts ahead just before the break and Oman earned a point through Ali al-Busaidi's 80th-minute goal.
'People may think this qualification round is easy, but we have to work so hard for every match,' South Korea captain and Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min said.
'A match like this can teach us a lesson. We have to take whatever positive we can from this.'
South Korea have 15 points, three clear of both Jordan and Iraq – the latter were held to a 2-2 draw by Kuwait.
In Group A, Iran now has 19 points after a 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Tehran to stay three clear of Uzbekistan, which beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0. The UAE and Qatar, which beat North Korea 5-1, both have 10 points.
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Al Jazeera
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