North, S Korea face off in soccer WC qualifiers

KUALA LUMPUR: North and South Korea will face off in politically-charged World Cup qualifiers after being drawn in the same group Wednesday, while arch-rivals Iran and Iraq will also meet.

Heavyweights Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia — who all played in the 2018 World Cup in Russia — were drawn in different groups for the Asian qualifiers of the 2022 edition of the tournament in Qatar.

China, who are seeking to qualify for the World Cup for only the second time, look to have a promising fixture against lower-ranked opponents including war-torn Syria and tiny Guam. The country and its 73rd-ranked team have grand ambitions to host and win a World Cup under football-fan President Xi Jinping.

South Korea is one of Asia’s best sides and should easily beat the North, but the matches between the neighbours on the divided Korean peninsula promise to be bitter. Sides play each other twice during the qualifiers, which run from September to June. After the draw at the Asian football body’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, South Korea coach Paulo Bento insisted that facing the North was “nothing special”.

“For us it is a sport — the goal is to qualify,” he told AFP. “The message I will share with the players when we play against North Korea is to give them the same respect we will have for any other teams we will play against.”