Singapore wins 2-1 at home against Guam…will they be the first opponent in November’s ‘Klinsmann Lake’ WC qualifier?
Jürgen Klinsmann’s South Korean national soccer team will likely face Singapore as their first opponent in the Asian qualifiers for the next World Cup.
Singapore earned a 2-1 victory over Guam in their first Asian qualifier for the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026 at the Singapore National Stadium on Wednesday (June 12).
After opening the scoring in the 35th minute through Christopher Van Huizen (Ryan City Sailors), Singapore doubled their lead in the 41st minute through Jakob Mahler (Madura United). Guam pulled one back in the 45th minute when Guam captain Jason Conliffe (Rovers FC) scored from a free kick.
With the win, Singapore will now travel to Guam on Sunday for the second leg of the Asia Zone 1 qualifier at the GFA Center Lower Field. The team with the most goals from the first and second legs combined will advance to the second qualifying round, with the away goals rule not being applied in the qualifiers.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held the draw for the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in July at the AFC Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In the draw, South Korea (28th) was drawn in Port 1 alongside Japan (20th), Iran (22nd), Australia (27th), Saudi Arabia (54th), Qatar (59th), United Arab Emirates (72nd) and Oman (73rd), according to the July FIFA rankings.토토사이트
In the group draw starting at Port 4, South Korea was placed in Group C alongside China, Thailand, and the winner of the Singapore-Guam first qualifier.
South Korea leads the all-time series against China (80th) with 22 wins, 12 draws, and two losses, and holds a 31-5-9 record against Thailand (113th). They also have a better head-to-head record against Singapore (158th – 21 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws) and Guam (203rd – 3 wins).
With World Cup qualifying starting in November, Singapore improved their chances of qualifying for the second round by beating Guam at home despite conceding a goal. If the Singaporeans are successful in qualifying from the first round, they will travel to South Korea for the first match of Group C of the second round of the World Cup Asia qualifiers on Nov. 16.
South Korea will play the first match of the second qualifying round at home against the Singapore-Guam winner on Nov. 16, before traveling to China on Nov. 21 for the second leg of the second qualifying round.
The second round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, will begin in November and run through June of next year. The biggest difference between the 2026 World Cup and previous editions is the expansion of the field from 32 to 48 nations, with the number of tickets allocated to Asia increasing from 4.5 to 8.5.
This has led to changes to the Asian qualifiers. The Asian qualifiers will consist of four stages. The first qualifying round will feature teams ranked 26-47 in Asia in the FIFA rankings. The 22 teams will face each other on October 12 and 17 in a home-and-home format, with the 11 winners advancing to the second round. A total of 36 teams will compete in the second qualifying round, including the teams ranked 1-25 in Asia by FIFA and the 11 teams that made it through the first qualifying round.
The 36 teams will be divided into nine groups of four teams and play a home-and-away round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the final round of 18 teams and a spot at the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The 18 qualifying teams will be divided into three groups of six teams and play a home-and-away round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group earning a direct ticket to the World Cup.
In the final round of qualifying, the six teams that finish third or fourth in each group will compete again in two groups of three, with the top two teams earning two tickets to the World Cup. The second-place teams will play each other to determine who will advance to the intercontinental playoffs.
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