S. Korea held by Palestine as winning streak ends in World Cup qualifiers

South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine on Tuesday as their winning streak in the Asian World Cup qualifiers came to an end at four.

Captain Son Heung-min netted the equalizer in the 16th minute, four minutes after Palestine had scored first at Amman International Stadium in Amman in the teams' Group B match in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

It was Son's 51st international goal, giving him sole possession of second place on South Korea's all-time list. But South Korea failed to find the back of the net again despite dominating ball possession.

Palestine were the home team but the match took place in the Jordanian capital as the neutral venue due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

South Korea lead Group B with 14 points from four wins and two draws, six points ahead of Iraq and Jordan before the conclusion of their matches on Tuesday. South Korea had a goalless draw against Palestine on Sept. 5 in Seoul to open the third round.

This was South Korea's last World Cup qualifying match for 2024, and the campaign will resume in March with back-to-back home matches against Oman and Jordan.

The third round will conclude in June with an away match against Iraq and a home contest against Kuwait.

There are three groups of six in this phase, and the top two teams from each group will punch their tickets to the 2026 World Cup. Teams finishing in third and fourth will go on to play the fourth round.

South Korea have played at every World Cup since 1986. (Yonhap)