Both North Korea and Qatar will be bidding to return to winning ways when they lock horns in Group A in the third round of qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
The 2022 World Cup hosts opened their Group A campaign with a 3-1 home defeat to the United Arab Emirates, while North Korea suffered a 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan in their first game in the section.
Match preview
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North Korea were unable to make a winning start to their Group A campaign on September 5, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Uzbekistan, with Jaloliddin Masharipov netting the only goal of the contest in the 20th minute.
The national side are bidding to qualify for a World Cup for just the third time – they reached the quarter-finals of the 1966 competition in England, before going out in the group stage of the tournament in South Africa back in 2010.
Sin Yong-nam‘s side finished second behind Japan in Group B in the second round to advance to the next stage, winning three and losing three of their six matches.
North Korea played Jordan twice in friendly encounters at the end of August, drawing the first match 0-0 before losing 2-1, so they will be bidding to record their first victory since June 11 when they lock horns with Qatar.
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Qatar, meanwhile, were also beaten in their Group A opener last time out; they took the lead in the 38th minute of the contest through Ibrahim Al Hassan but then conceded three times in the second period to suffer a home defeat.
Tintin Marquez‘s side finished top of Group A in the second round of qualification, picking up 16 points from their six matches courtesy of a record of five wins and one defeat, which left them comfortably at the summit.
Qatar qualified for the 2022 World Cup as hosts, but they lost all three of their matches to exit in the group stage.
The national side have a record of five wins, one draw and one defeat in their qualification matches for the 2026 competition, but they will be under pressure to pick up a positive result on Tuesday.
These two sides last locked horns in the Asian Cup back in January 2019, with Qatar running out 6-0 winners, and they are unbeaten against North Korea since 2010.
North Korea World Cup Qualifying – Asia form:
North Korea form (all competitions):
Qatar World Cup Qualifying – Asia form:
Qatar form (all competitions):
Team News
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North Korea did not suffer any injury issues in their clash with Uzbekistan last time out, so head coach Yong-nam is set to have the same squad available for selection.
There is expected to be a change in the final third of the field for this contest, with Jong Il-gwan, who is comfortably his country’s all-time top goalscorer with 30, set to come into the starting XI.
As for Qatar, Almoez Ali is the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 54, and the 28-year-old will feature in the final third of the field.
The captain Akram Afif played as the number 10 against the UAE last time out, and that is again likely to be the case in this contest.
Head coach Marquez is expected to keep faith with a 3-5-1-1 formation, with Mohammed Waad continuing in a wide area for Qatar.
North Korea possible starting lineup:
Ju-hyok; Ok-chol, J Kuk-chol, Yu-song, Pom-hyok; Chung-song, Kuk-bom, K Kuk-chol, Il-song; Kwang-song, Il-gwan
Qatar possible starting lineup:
Barsham; Miguel, Salman, Mendes; I Mohammad, Gaber, Fathy, Al Hassan, Waad; Afif; Ali
We say: North Korea 1-1 Qatar
Qatar have won two of the last four meetings between the two teams, but the other two fixtures have finished level, and we are expecting a draw here, as both will be determined not to suffer successive losses in the section.
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