South, North Korea to Meet in World Cup Qualifiers

Korea was placed in an Asian preliminary qualifier group with North Korea, Jordan and Turkmenistan for the 2010 World Cup.

According to a format designed by FIFA on Monday, South Korea is in Group 3 along with North Korea. The two have been in the same group for the first time since the Asian region’s final qualifiers for the 1994 U.S. World Cup 15 years ago.

Korea is ahead of North Korea in the A-Match standings with five wins, three draws and one loss.

The regional preliminary qualifier for the World Cup divides 20 Asian states into five groups with four countries in each. The four will play a home game and an away game against each other. The first and second teams in the group will move on to the regional final qualifiers.

South Korea will begin its qualifying matches with Turkmenistan in a home game on February 6, 2008. Korea plays North Korea in Pyongyang on March 26, and a home game on September 10. The schedules are subject to change.

The Korean National Football Team’s away game in Pyongyang is the first there in 18 years, since the South-North Korean Unification Soccer Match in October 1990. South Korea lost to North Korea 1-2 at that time. Regional final qualifiers are played among the ten teams that qualified, and are divided into two groups with five teams each. They will also play home and away games, the and first and second teams of each group will play in the World Cup finals.

In the European regional qualifiers, Russia, led by Guus Hiddink, will play in Group 4, along with Germany and Finland.