The enthusiasm and excitement about the World Cup qualifying matches have always been top-notch. In the recent news, World Cup qualifying matches will be held outside Seoul, which will be organized by South Korea.
Today, we discuss why games are being held outside South Korea’s capital and the experiences with the venues.
Reasons to Hold The Matches Outside Seoul
There are a lot of football fans who are interested in knowing the reason for the matches being held outside Seoul because usually, host countries hold the matches in the capital city.
The premier reason, according to the Korea Sports Association, is the weather.
With the weather being extremely cold and the ground conditions being subpar, the games have been moved outside of Seoul. Many have complained about the venue’s conditions and extremely cold temperatures.
In an interview with the K League players, they complained about the poor field conditions along with the mercury being close to 0, which directly or indirectly affected their performance.
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Matches Scheduled and Details About Asian Qualification
The Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is going great guns. In the future, the games between South Korea and Oman will take place at Goyang Stadium. This match will be played on 20th March.
Meanwhile, fans can also enjoy the game between Jordan and South Korea on 25th March 2025 at Suwon Worldcup Stadium. With winter being familiar in February and March, the matches will be played 30 km away from the capital city.
There were also games against Iraq in October, which were played in Yongin, 40 km away from the capital.
Even during those games, the condition of the pitch for the qualifying matches wasn’t great, and FIFA had to intervene and push the tournament away from the Seoul stadium.
South Korea Standings Before Next Qualifying Matches
The World Cup qualifying matches will be all but important for the Korean team. They are the leader of Group B at the moment with four wins and two draws from 6 matches, which accounts for 14 points.
As South Korea sits pretty at the top, expect them to finish in the Top 2 and move to the World Cup. The performance of South Korea in the World Cup was brilliant. They have been part of the tournament since 1986 and put together memorable performances.
AFC 2026 Qualifying Matches
Fans have been waiting a long time to watch the Asian region qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Meanwhile, the dates and times for these games have been available for everyone to enjoy.
Here is the complete fixture for the next 12 games in the competition:
| Matches | Venue | Date | Time |
| Australia vs Indonesia | Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 20th March, 2025 | 2:55 PM |
| Japan vs Bahrain | Saitama Stadium 2002, Japan | 20th March, 2025 | 4:20 PM |
| South Korea vs Oman | Goyang Stadium, Korea Republic | 20th March, 2025 | 4:45 PM |
| Iran vs UAE | Azadi Stadium, Iran | 20th March, 2025 | 9:45 PM |
| Uzbekistan vs Kazakhstan | Milly Stadium, Uzbekistan | 20th March, 2025 | 9:45 PM |
| Iraq vs Kuwait | Basra International Stadium, Iraq | 21st March, 2025 | 12:00 AM |
| Jordan vs Palestine | Amman International Stadium, Jordan | 21st March, 2025 | 12:00 AM |
| Qatar vs North Korea | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar | 21st March, 2025 | 12:00 AM |
| Saudi Arabia vs China | Al Awwal Park, Saudi Arabia | 21st March, 2025 | 12:00 AM |
| Japan vs Saudi Arabia | Saitama Stadium, Japan | 25th March, 2025 | 4:20 PM |
| China vs Australia | Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, Hangzhou | 25th March, 2025 | 4:45PM |
| South Korea vs Jordan | Suwon World cup Stadium, Korea Republic | 25th March, 2025 | 4:45 PM |
| Indonesia vs Bahrain | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia | 25th March, 2025 | 7:30 PM |
| Kazakhstan vs Qatar | Stadion im Dolena, Kyrgyz Republic | 25th March, 2025 | 7:30 PM |
| Iran vs Uzbekistan | Azadi Stadium, Iran | 25th March, 2025 | 9:45 PM |
| North Korea vs UAE | TBC | 25th March, 2025 | TBC |
| Palestine vs Iraq | TBC | 25th March, 2025 | TBC |
| Kuwait vs Oman | Jaber Al Ahmad Stadium, Kuwait | 26th March, 2025 | 12:00 AM |
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