World Cup 2022: South Korea Aim to Finish Strong in the Qualifiers

Iraq vs Korea Republic

The Taeguk Warriors plan to maintain their undefeated streak in the third round of the Asian World Cup 2022 qualifiers when they’ll take on Iraq this Tuesday.

South Korea are one step closer to securing their berth to Qatar 2022 as they’re the second-seeded nation in Group A with 11 points – only trailing by two against pacesetters Iran.

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But the same can’t be said for Iraq who only have four points at the table. And with only two direct berths for the top two teams, Iraq will have to go through another gauntlet in the fourth round assuming they’ll move up to the third spot.

While the results have been positive for South Korea, they have yet to reach their peak here in this qualifying tournament.

The SBOTOP pre-match betting odds are favouring Paulo Bento’s side for this fixture. However, their margin of error isn’t that big when taking into account their previous meeting not too long ago.

Iraq brought the fight to Korea Republic last September and they’ll look to do that once more, this time at a neutral venue.

Talking Points

Iraq’s chances are hanging by a thread

When Srecko Katanec left his role as Iraq’s manager in the summer, Dick Advocaat inherited the daunting task of trying to guide the nation to its first trip to the World Cup since 1986.

Under the former Feyenoord coach, Iraq have improved defencively but their subpar World Cup 2022 results mean that a more arduous road awaits them if they’ll book their tickets to Qatar next year.

After holding Korea Republic to a goalless draw in Advocaat’s first game in charge, Iraq were demolished by Iran with a 3-0 scoreline. However, they did pick up one point each against Lebanon, UAE, and Syria yesterday.

Scoring has been a problem for the Mesopotomian Lions but they do offer a couple of quality players who can do damage.

Midfielder Amir Al-Ammari is one of their sparkplugs off the bench while striker Aymen Hussein is an imposing figure up front given his good physical attributes and eye for goals.

Iraq are in must-win mode since there’s only one spot to the fourth round of the World Cup qualifiers.

Lebanon hold a one-point advantage over Iraq in Group A. Other than wishing for a win over Korea Republic, Dick Advocaat’s men are hopeful that Lebanon will lose to UAE on Tuesday too.

Korea Republic must play up to their level

Despite being in good position to qualify for Qatar, manager Paulo Bento remains under pressure in trying to get the best out of his star-laden squad.

In the third round of the qualifiers, Korea Republic recorded three wins and two draws. But their victories aren’t as convincing as they should be since they’ve only scored more than once in only one out their last five.

Paulo Bento prepare Korea Republic squad ahead of highly-anticipated World Cup 2022 Asian Qualifiers match with Iraq — Paulo Bento watches over Korea Republic from the sidelines during match against Iran at the Azadi Sports Complex

Against UAE on Thursday, Korea Republic were wasteful in front of goal as they’ve only converted once from their 22 total shots with six of them on target.

Tottenham star Heung-Min Son looked particularly frustrated in some of his misses as he saw his international scoring streak snapped after two games.

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-Chan was the one who saved the day for the Taeguk Warriors when he calmly converted a penalty at the 36th minute.

Look for them to assert themselves once more versus Iraq this Tuesday.

History

This will be the seventh-ever meeting in international competitions between Iraq and Korea Republic.

In their previous six meetings, Korea Republic hold the advantage with three wins and three draws while Iraq never had a positive result.

The last encounter between these two sides took place last September where Iraq raised eyebrows as they held Korea Republic to a goalless draw.

The Mesopotamian Lions adopted an ultra-defencive approach for that fixture and we expect them to do the same in this upcoming match.

Prior to their September game, Iraq held Korea Republic with the same exact scoreline during a 2017 international friendly.

Betting Tip

	Iraq vs Korea Republic	Korea Republic Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.16
	November 16, 23:00 (GMT+8)

The World Cup 2022 odds have Korea Republic priced at 1.63, while Iraq are pegged at 4.60 and chances for a draw are at 3.45 in the 1X2 market.

There’s more pressure for Iraq to pull out a win and they have been fairly strong on the defencive end, which should make this a highly-contested affair once again.

However, given their better quality and experience, the South Koreans are in great shape to claim another three points – and possibly the top spot in Group A should Syria upset Iran on Tuesday.