Doha, 6 June

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.