The South Korean men’s national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, will look to qualify for their 11th consecutive World Cup when they face one of China, Thailand, or Singapore-Guam in the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 FIFA Confederations Cup North America.
South Korea was drawn in Group C alongside the winners of China, Thailand and Singapore-Guam at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2026 FIFA Confederations Cup North America-2027 AFC Asian Cup Second Qualifying Round on Sunday (June 27) at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They will begin their campaign on Nov. 16 with a home game against the winner of the first leg of the Singapore vs. Guam match.
The 36-team 2026 FIFA World Cup Asia Regional Second Qualifying Round will also serve as the second qualifying round for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The first and second place finishers in each group will advance to the third round of World Cup qualifying, while also earning a spot in the Asian Cup.
South Korea is ranked 28th in the July FIFA rankings, the fourth-highest of the qualifiers for the tournament, and is drawn in Port 1. Joining South Korea in Port 1 are Japan (20th), Iran (22nd), Australia (27th), Saudi Arabia (54th), Qatar (59th), United Arab Emirates (72nd) and Oman (73rd), who will avoid each other in the second round of qualifying.
The draw, which began in Port 4, placed South Korea in Group C alongside China, Thailand, and the winner of the Singapore-Guam first qualifier. They will also face one of Singapore-Guam depending on the outcome of the first qualifier in October.
The 2026 FIFA Confederations Cup North America will feature a 48-nation field, up from 32. The Asian region will be awarded 8.5 berths, with four rounds of qualifying to determine the eight direct qualifiers and one intercontinental PO.
South Korea leads the all-time series against China (80th) with 22 wins, 12 draws, and 2 losses, while Thailand (113th) holds the advantage with 31 wins, 5 draws, and 9 losses. The team also received a favorable grouping against Singapore (158th – 21 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws) and Guam (203rd – 3 wins).
North Korea, which was drawn in Port 3, was placed in Group B alongside Japan, Syria, and the winner of the Myanmar-Macau first round. 메이저놀이터 The second round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup begins in November and runs through June of next year.Since the 2006 World Cup, the number of tickets allocated to Asia has increased from 4.5 to 8.5 as the number of competing nations has grown from 32 to 48.
This has led to changes in the Asian qualifiers. The Asian qualifiers will consist of four stages. The first round will feature teams ranked 27th to 46th in Asia in the FIFA rankings. The 20 teams will meet on October 12 and 17 in a home-and-home format, with the 10 winners advancing to the second round. A total of 36 teams will compete in the second qualifying round, including the teams ranked 1-26 in Asia by FIFA and the 10 teams that made it through the first qualifying round.
The 36 teams will be divided into nine groups of four teams and play a home-and-away round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the final 18 spots and a spot at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.