Four teams that upset the odds in world cup qualifying games

Korea DPR, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine all overcame major difficulties to qualify for the third round of Asian qualifying for FIFA World Cup 26.

With the conclusion of the second round of Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 26™, we now know the 18 teams who will be competing in the third round.

Six will qualify directly for the tournament in North America, while a further six will move on to the fourth round of qualifying. The closing stages of the second round saw plenty of excitement and surprises, with four teams overcoming difficult positions to secure qualification in their final matches.

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Having failed to qualify for the World Cup since 2010, Korea DPR have surprised everyone with strong qualifying performances, demonstrating a real cohesion and fighting spirit. Victories over Syria and Myanmar in their last two games secured second place in the group to qualify for the third round. Their second-round campaign had not got off to a good start, with three losses in their first four matches. But thanks to those crucial victories against Syria and Myanmar – and Japan’s victory over the Syrians – they took the second and final qualifying spot in the group.

Historic qualification for the third round is a sign of the significant development Palestinian football has seen under Tunisian coach Makram Daboub.

Despite all the challenges the team faced, they performed excellently to secure second place in their group.

Although they lost twice to Australia, two draws against Lebanon and a couple of wins against Bangladesh, scoring six goals along the way, saw Mohammed Rashid and his side secure eight points and a first ever qualification for the crucial third round.

Although Kuwait have a long footballing history, both results and performances have disappointed in recent years, seeing them fall to 139th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and fail to qualify for the most recent AFC Asian Cup. In the latest qualifiers, however, Al Azraq have demonstrated a real determination to return to the world stage.

Going into their sixth and final match, Kuwait sat at the bottom of their group with four points, although coach Rui Bento believed his team had performed better in their previous two matches, against Qatar and India, than the results suggested. They did not lose hope of turning things around in the final match, where they needed to beat Afghanistan and hope India failed to beat Qatar.

Fortunately, an 81st minute goal from Eid Al Rashidi secured the win for Al Azraq, while Qatar won their game 2-1

Kyrgyzstan qualified for the third round after finishing second in their group on 11 points, losing just one match, their opener against Malaysia, in the process. They also beat eventual group winners, Oman, in their home game and secured a draw in Muscat.

This is the first time Kyrgyzstan have qualified for the third round, an especially impressive feat considering their disappointing group-stage exit at the most recent Asian Cup, where they finished bottom of their group. It would seem that Slovak coach, Stefan Tarkovic, just needed some time to instil his tactical ideas and raise their game to another level after taking on the role in April 2023.