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| World Cup Qatar 2022 preliminary draw / Yonhap |
By John Duerden
As the draw for 2022 World Cup qualification progressed, it seemed inevitable that South and North Korea would be placed in the same group and so it came to pass.
It is just a year and three weeks since South Korea left Russia after a second successive first round exit at the World Cup. On late Wednesday afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, the team took its first steps on the road to Qatar 2022. But it will have to get past the neighbors to the north in order to do so.
North and South Korea met four times during qualification for the 2010 World Cup. The men were not allowed to play in Pyongyang and had to go to Shanghai instead. That is the big question this time around: will the Taegeuk Warriors be able to play in front of 80,000 fans at the Kim Il Sung Stadium? The women did so in 2017 as part of qualification for the 2018 Asian Cup.
That is the major issue to be sorted as Group H should not pose too many hardships for South Korea. This is just the second round of qualification. No tickets to Qatar will be handed out just yet. The eight group winners and the best four runners-up will progress to the next stage when the fun really begins. At least four of that final twelve will be jetting to the Middle East in 2022.
Korea should have more than enough to get to the next stage. It would be a major shock if the team that has appeared at the last nine successive World Cups did not get even get close to a tenth. The ideal group is one that is not going to cause too much stress but is challenging enough to get the team tuned up for tougher upcoming tests.
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| Korean national team coach Paulo Bento speaks after the preliminary draw for the World Cup Qatar 2022 at Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday. Yonhap |
This is not that far away. North Korea has been poor of late ― the team was dreadful at the Asian Cup in January and lost all three games― but is sure to make it tough for its rival.
The other teams in the group should be a little kinder though Lebanon will be no pushover, in Beirut at least. Nobody at the Korea Football Association will be forget losing to Lebanon in qualification for the 2014 competition. That cost then coach Cho Kwang-rae his job but Paulo Bento should be safe.
Turkmenistan is an improved team but it will be a shock if the Koreans do not take three points at home and also in Central Asia. The fifth team in the group is the lowest-ranked of all. Sri Lanka is a genuine minnow and fans back home will be satisfied with no less than two emphatic wins against the islanders.
The headlines will, however, be reserved for the double-header against North Korea. 'The Korean Derby' will receive plenty of attention around the world but the objective is simple: just finish first in the group and progress to the next stage.
