"Please don’t drop to pot 2!"

Japan, led by coach Hajime Moriyasu, drew with Saudi Arabia, 0-0, in a home match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America Asian third qualifying round Group C match held on the 25th at Saitama Stadium in Japan.

Japan, which sent out a 1.5 team, displayed equal performance against Saudi Arabia, which fielded its best squad.

With 6 wins and 2 draws, Japan secured 20 points and confirmed its position at the top of Group C. Even if Japan loses all in the upcoming June qualifiers 9th and 10th rounds, and second-place Australia (13 points) wins all, Japan can maintain the lead.

Earlier, on the 20th, Japan became the first country to secure a spot in the final rounds of the World Cup after a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in the 7th qualifying match. With a FIFA ranking of 15, the highest among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries, Japan exhibited overwhelming performance, scoring 24 goals and allowing only 2 in the 8 matches of the third qualifying round.

Teams finishing in the top two of each group in the third qualifying round will receive direct tickets to the World Cup. Japan is in a commanding lead, while Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia compete for the second place.

Currently, Australia is in second place, with Saudi Arabia (10 points) in third place. Indonesia is in fourth place (9 points).

In contrast, South Korea has yet to secure its World Cup participation. Of course, it took a breath.

Iraq lost, 1-2, to Palestine in the 8th Group B match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America Asia regional third qualifying round on the 26th in 'neutral territory' Amman, Jordan.

This was an unexpected result. Iraq, ranked 56th by FIFA, was objectively stronger than Palestine, which is ranked 101st.

Iraq took the lead with a goal from Aimen Hussein in the 34th minute, but allowed a tying goal to Wessam Abu Ali in the 43rd minute of the second half, followed by a dramatic winning goal from Ahmed Mahazna during seven minutes of added time, resulting in a shocking comeback loss.

As a result, Iraq remains stagnant at 12 points. Palestine, which recorded its first win in the World Cup qualifiers, moved up to 5th place with a record of 1 win, 3 draws, and 4 losses (6 points).

South Korea, competing in Group B, added 1 point after a 1-1 draw with Jordan in a home match at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the previous day (25th), maintaining its lead in Group B with 16 points. The gap with second-place Jordan (13 points) is only 3 points.

If Iraq had won that day, and secured 15 points, the upcoming match between South Korea and Iraq scheduled for June could have been a fierce battle for the top spot in the group. In that case, if South Korea lost, they would give up the lead and risk dropping to the fourth qualifying round depending on the results of Jordan and Oman. Only the top two teams in the third qualifying round are awarded direct tickets to the finals.

However, South Korea was able to avoid the worst-case scenario thanks to Palestine's dramatic comeback victory over Iraq. This was a result of 'luck' for coach Hong Myung-bo, who was shaken after consecutive 1-1 draws against Oman and Jordan at home.

South Korea will secure a place in the World Cup finals as long as they earn at least a draw in the away match against Iraq on June 5.

Japan Football Channel noted, "South Korea achieved good results by the efforts of others," and added, "Palestine sent a valuable gift for South Korea's qualification for the World Cup finals."

Japanese fans expressed their shock, saying, "Please don't drop to pot 2 in the Asian region!"

[OSEN]