South Korea and Saudi Arabia qualified for next year’s World Cup on Tuesday, while war-torn Syria kept alive its dream of playing on soccer’s biggest stage for the first time.
Australia, the reigning Asian champion, will face Syria in a playoff to stay in contention for a World Cup place after both teams missed the chance to seal automatic qualification, as the group stages of Asian qualifying drew to a close.
In Group B, Australia beat Thailand 2-1 in a nervous performance. Needing to boost their goal difference to hold off Saudi Arabia in the standings, the Australians instead missed chance after chance against a much weaker opponent.