Palestinians face tough South Korea test on road to 2026 World Cup

Palestine has been drawn against South Korea, Iran, Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka in Group H of the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

The Palestinians will open their campaign at home to Turkmenistan on September 8, before travelling to Sri Lanka three days later. They will then host Iran on October 13, before back-to-back away games against Lebanon (October 16) and South Korea (November 10).

The top two teams from each group will advance to the third round of qualifying, which will begin in November 2023.

Palestine will be hoping to reach the World Cup for the first time in their history.

They have come close on a number of occasions, but have always fallen short at the final hurdle. In 2018, they lost to Australia in a play-off for a place at the World Cup in Russia.

South Korea will be the favourites to win Group H. They are currently ranked 28th in the world, and have qualified for the last 10 World Cups.

However, Palestine will be no pushovers. They are ranked 94th in the world, and have a number of talented players, including Mahmoud Abdeen, Jonathan Zorrilla and Oday Dabbagh.

The match against South Korea will be a particularly tough test for Palestine.

South Korea is a strong team, and they will be determined to qualify for the World Cup in 2026. Palestine will need to be at their best if they want to get a result against them.

The match will be played at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on November 10, 2023.

Conclusion

The Palestinians face a tough test in their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. They have been drawn against some of the strongest teams in Asia, including South Korea and Iran.

However, the Palestinians have shown in the past that they are capable of beating the odds. They will be hoping to do so again in the second round of qualifying.