Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae and South Korea qualify for 2026 FIFA World Cup

It will be the 11th straight World Cup finals for the Koreans.

South Korea have become the latest nation to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The East Asians sealed their place in next year’s tournament with a 2-0 win over Iraq, which propelled them to top spot in Group B of the third round of Asian qualifying. The win also ended up granting Jordan a first ever berth at the World Cup finals.

As per usual under head coach Hong Myung-bo, Korea did not create much in the first half. But a red card in the 26th minute for Iraq rapidly changed things, and while they managed to keep the scores level until halftime, the gulf in player quality and the man disadvantage ultimately sealed their fate. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ Kim Jin-gyu opened the scoring in the 63rd minute, and KRC Genk’s Oh Hyeon-gyu sealed the deal with just under ten minutes to go.

Korea thus reached the World Cup finals for the eleventh consecutive tournament, and twelfth time overall. Their best-ever record is their memorable run to the semifinals in 2002, and they also shocked Germany fans to the core with a 2-0 win over the then-defending champions in 2018.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae was not called up to the national team due to his ongoing Achilles problem. If reports from Korea are to be trusted, Kim will not only miss the remainder of the World Cup qualifiers, but also the FIFA Club World Cup, which starts next week.

Korea will wrap up their qualifying campaign with a dead rubber match against Kuwait in Seoul on Tuesday.