Korea Republic vs Iraq
South Korea and Iraq are going to face off at the Yongin Mireu Stadium on Tuesday in what will be a crunch battle for the top spot in Group B of the ongoing World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers.
We’re three matchdays into the third round, and these two teams look on their way to securing their tickets to the World Cup, so this match is a matter of having the bragging rights of holding the top seed.
With two wins and one draw apiece, South Korea and Iraq are holding the top two spots. However, only one of them can stay undefeated in the group unless they share the spoils.
SBOTOP football fans are definitely looking forward to this contest, and for good reason, so we have you covered with today’s match preview.
Talking Points
South Korea can still fire even without Son
South Korea national team captain Heung-Min Son played during their goalless draw against Palestine and their 3-1 victory over Oman, in which he scored, but he won’t be available against Iraq due to his lingering fitness concerns.
Before this World Cup 2026 news was confirmed, Son had already missed the Spurs’ last three matches due to injury, so omitting him from the national team this international break was done due to precaution.
Despite this, Hong Myung-Bo’s men are still capable of lording over Group B because of the weapons they have.
A total of five Taeguk Warriors (including Heung-Min Son) have already scored in the third round, as Hwang Hee-Chan and Joo Min-Kyu also scored against Oman while Lee Jae-Sung and Oh Hyeon-Gyu netted against Jordan.
South Korea also has Lee Kang-In, who is in good form playing for PSG this season, despite not yet finding the back of the net so far in the third round.
The versatile attacker has regularly played under head coach Luis Enrique, and Lee already has three goals for the defending Ligue 1 champions this season.
Hussein moving up Iraq’s scoring charts
After a dominant second round where they won all of their Group F matches and had a whopping goal difference of +15, Iraq has cooled down for a bit here in the third round.
The Mesopotamian Lions have only scored twice so far, but they still got the job done with 1-0 wins over Oman and Palestine.
The man responsible for winning Iraq six points in those contests is their veteran striker, Aymen Hussein. With 29 goals in 78 caps, the Al-Khor forward will surely keep South Korea’s backline busy on Tuesday.
Aymen Hussein is currently joint-fifth in Iraq’s all-time scoring list alongside Falah Hassan. If he scores against South Korea, he will be solo fifth and will be six goals away from surpassing fourth-placed Ali Kadhim on the list.
Another player to look out for from Iraq is attacking midfielder Lucas Shlimon, as the 21-year-old had a pretty solid national team debut yesterday against Palestine.
History
South Korea will meet Iraq for the 26th time across all competitions on Tuesday, and they have a winning record against their Middle East counterparts in the overall head-to-heads.
The Taeguk Warriors won nine games, while the Mesopotamian Lions have five wins and 11 draws.
Iraq are winless against South Korea in their last five encounters since the 2007 AFC Asian Cup semi-finals, where they advanced to the final after winning the penalty shootout.
The Mesopotamian Lions went on to defeat Saudi Arabia by one goal in the final, while the Taeguk Warriors settled for a P3 finish by beating Japan on penalties.
South Korea have been a regular fixture in the World Cup since 1986, and their best finish in the quadrennial meet was when they made it to the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2022.
Iraq, on the other hand, hope to make it back to the world stage for the first time since 1986.
Betting Tip
The World Cup 2026 odds are in favour of the hosts. South Korea are 1.40 favourites, while Iraq are 6.50 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.63 in the 1X2 market.
This is a clash of styles, with South Korea loving their attacking brand of football and Iraq’s penchant for producing low-scoring games. For this contest, the Taeguk Warriors should ultimately prevail via a handful of goals. So, other than our recommended bet above, you may also go for bets like Over 2.25 at 2.00 and Total Goal 2-3 at 1.99, and Total Goal 4-6 at 4.17 is a remote possibility.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
