South Korea also secured their place at the tournament with 10 countries now confirmed for the expanded 48-team tournament in United States, Canada and Mexico. The three hosts have qualified automatically, while Japan, New Zealand, Iran and Argentina have also confirmed their spots.

By Michael Church HONG KONG (Reuters) -Uzbekistan and Jordan progressed to the World Cup finals for the first time on Thursday as regular qualifiers South Korea also booked their place in North America next year with a 2-0 win over Iraq in Basra.

Both Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified for the men’s World Cup for the first time. Uzbekistan sealed qualification with one match remaining in Group A of the third round of qualification in Asia, after a 0-0 draw against UAE on Thursday.