Iraq have joined Australia in the third round of Asia's 2026 World Cup preliminaries with a 5-0 win against the Philippines, while South Korea edged closer with a 3-0 win over Thailand.
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The Iraqis notched up their fourth victory in a row in Manila with former Manchester United midfielder Zidane Iqbal among the scorers.
The win moves Iraq onto 12 points in Group F, nine clear of third placed Vietnam, who suffered a damaging 3-0 loss in Hanoi against Indonesia.
That result strengthens Indonesia's hopes of a place in the next round as Shin Tae-yong's team consolidate their hold on second place in the group ahead of the Vietnamese with two games remaining.
The top two finishers in each of the nine groups advance to the next round of qualifying. Asia has eight guaranteed berths at the first 48-team World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026.
Palestine are favourites to qualify alongside Australia in Group I after securing a 1-0 victory over Bangladesh. Michel Termanini scored two minutes after Amid Mahajna's 92nd-minute sending off for a second yellow card to move the Palestinians five points ahead of third-placed Lebanon.
South Korea, meanwhile, put Thursday's disappointing draw with Thailand in Seoul behind them in the return clash in Bangkok with Lee Jae-sung, Son Heung-min and Park Jin-seop netting in a 3-0 win in Group C.
China moved into second in the group with a 4-1 win against Singapore, with Wu Lei scoring twice to take Branko Ivankovic's side onto seven points from four games, three ahead of the third-placed Thais.
Australian Associated Press
