The Asian leg of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers scheduled for the fall was rescheduled for 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Asian Football Confederation and FIFA announced the postponement of the matches set for October and November. Instead, teams will play their qualifiers in 2021.
Based on betting odds sources, the joint statement from the two organizations said that they rescheduled the tournament to protect the safety and health of participants. AFC and FIFA will monitor the situation in the region before giving specific dates for the rescheduled games.
Asian countries are in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers that started in September of 2019. After the winter break, the campaign was to resume in March. However, there a coronavirus pandemic was ongoing. As a result, AFC and FIFA had to postpone the matches for later in the year.
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
South Korea is one of the countries trying to qualify for the World Cup. It will be the tenth straight World Cup appearance for the nation if it qualifies for the tournament. At present, it is in Group H along with Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and North Korea. South Korea played four matches, while the other teams already played five games, according to online gambling sites.
In June, AFC and FIFA rescheduled the South Korea matches vs. Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka from March 26 and 31 to October 8 to 13. Also, the organizers rescheduled the all-Korea fixture from June 9 to November 17, according to sports betting reports.
At that time, AFC and FIFA said that the schedules could change depending on the coronavirus situation in the region. Also, they need to assess the travel restrictions in different countries. The winners of each group will advance to the next round. The four-best runners-up from the eight groups will also head to the third round.
