The second round of the second stage of the Asian qualifiers for WC 2026 was marked by a number of exciting matches. In Group C, South Korea emerged victorious against China with a score of 3-0. Son Heung-min scored twice and assisted a third goal as the Koreans took an early lead from the penalty spot after Hwang Hee-chan was fouled in the penalty area. They added their second goal in the last minute of the first half with a header, and their third in the 87th minute with a goal by Jung Seung-hyun.

Meanwhile, in Group B, Japan defeated Syria with a score of 5-0 as guests in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Takegush Kubo scored two goals for Japan, while Jong Il Gwan scored a hat-trick for North Korea as they secured their first win of the campaign by beating Myanmar 6-1 in Yangon.

In Group E, Hong Kong came back twice to draw 2-2 with Turkmenistan, while Uzbekistan and Iran played to a 2-2 draw in Tashkent. The Iranians led 2-0 with goals from Rezeian and Taremi, but Urunov and Sergejev saved the hosts from defeat.

Group F saw Iraq win over hosts Vietnam with a score of 1-0 after Mohanad Ali scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time. In this group, Philippines and Indonesia drew 1-1 in Manila.

In Group G, Tajikistan won over Pakistan with a score of 6-1 and Oman was defeated by Branko Ivanković’s Croatia with a score of 1-0 near Kyrgyzstan. Australia celebrated away to Palestine with a goal by Harry Souttar which gave them an edge over Bangladesh and Lebanon who ended up drawing 1-1