The luck of Hong Myung-bo in crisis follows...Iraq, which almost followed, was unexpectedly defeated by the Palestinians

The luck of Hong Myung-bo in crisis follows...Iraq, which almost followed, was unexpectedly defeated by the Palestinians

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Heavenly luck followed Hong Myung-bo.

Iraq lost 1-2 to Palestine in the eighth Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup in Amman, Jordan, on the 26th (Korea Standard Time).

Iraq led by Eamen Hussein's goal in the 34th minute of the first half, but suffered a shocking upset by allowing an equalizer to Wessam Abu Ali in the 43rd minute of the second half and a comeback goal to Amid Mahazna in the 7th minute of extra time.

Iraq is ranked 56th in the FIFA rankings, which is a higher level than Palestine at 101st. Moreover, the match was held in the neutral zone of Jordan, which resulted in Iraq's unexpected loss of points.

As Iraq failed to win points, Team Hong took a breather. The Korean team had a 1-1 draw with Jordan at Suwon on Saturday. Following the match against Oman in March, the team ended up with two points. Korea ranked first with 16 points, but is only three points shorter than second-ranked Jordan with 13 points. Iraq remained flat at 12 points to remain in third place.

If Iraq secured 15 points after beating Palestine, South Korea had to face Iraq in June with a one-point deficit. If the team lost, it would lose the lead and tie the score with Jordan, who is facing Oman. They could have feared that the team would fail to advance to the fourth round of the preliminary round, rather than going straight to the finals, but thanks to Palestine's dramatic reversal, the worst situation could be avoided. The team was reeling from two draws, but luck came along. 메이저사이트

Group B is heading for chaos. With Korea, Jordan and Iraq not far apart, and even Oman (10 points) jumping into the race, the battle for the finals is getting fiercer.