Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying

Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.

That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.

Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).

South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.

| Palestine Korea Republic

Palestine once again prove their mettle, holding Korea Republic to another draw!#AsianQualifiers | #PLEvKOR pic.twitter.com/h75ThihsJh

— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) November 19, 2024

In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.

Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan’s third.

Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.

The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.