Korea Republic have qualified for their tenth FIFA World Cup finals in succession, becoming the sixth nation in the world to achieve the feat.

Kim Jinsu and Kwon Changhoon struck in the second half, as Paulo Bento’s charges beat Syria 2-0 in their eighth match of the Asian Qualifiers final round for Qatar 2022 staged at Rashid Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

Having accumulated 20 points with six wins and two draws in the final round, Korea Republic secured passage to the world finals by finishing at least second in Group A with two games to spare. A total of 4.5 tickets are allocated to Asia, where the winners and the runners-up from Groups A and B automatically qualify for the finals with the third-place teams to go through the playoffs. From Group A, Iran and Korea Republic have reached the finals.

Therefore, Korea Republic have qualified for their tenth consecutive FIFA World Cup finals since Mexico 1986 – a milestone only achieved by six countries including Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Spain. Qatar 2022 will be Korea Republic’s 11th world finals since their debut at Switzerland 1954.

Bento opted for the two strikers he used against Lebanon last week, deploying Hwang Uijo and Cho Guesung up front. There were a few minor changes in other departments, with Paik Seungho given a start in defensive midfield role to replace Jung Wooyoung (Al Sadd) who had been sidelined due to disciplinary suspension.

Lee Jaesung, Hwang Inbeom and Jeong Wooyeong (Freiburg) started in midfield, with the latter replacing Kwon who featured against Lebanon. The back four consisted of four Kims: Kim Jinsu, Kim Younggwon, Kim Minjae and Kim Taehwan, the latter in place of right back Lee Yong; and Kim Seunggyu between the sticks.

Contrary to the expectations, the hosts came out strong from the outset and almost took an unlikely lead. Omar Khrbin thought he had put his side ahead after ten minutes, when he glanced a header off a free-kick from the left. However, the goal did not stand as it was ruled offside after a VAR review.

The visitors soon regrouped and fought back immediately. On 14 minutes, Kim Jinsu hit the side netting with a shot from an acute angle, before Paik saw his mid-range effort swerve out of the right post four minutes later.

However, the visitors were almost made to pay for a crucial mistake midway through the first half. Kim Jinsu’s pass to goalkeeper Kim Seunggyu was intercepted by Mahmoud Almawas, who could only miscue his shot past the left post. At the opposite end, Cho Guesung glanced his header just wide of the target deep into added time.

Bento brought Kwon Changhoon, who had featured prominently as an attacking midfielder against Moldova, on for Jeong during the interval, in an attempt to find a breakthrough against the stubborn Syrian rearguard. Paik fired a warning shot from a free-kick, before the eagerly awaited opener arrived eight minutes into the second half.

It was a combined effort from fullbacks Kim Taehwan and Kim Jinsu, with the former delivering a cross from the right deep into the path of the latter, who nodded the ball inside the far post to score his second goal for Korea Republic – at the same venue he opened his international account with a header against Bahrain in the round of 16 of the AFC Asian Cup in 2019.

The Taegeuk Warriors doubled their advantage on 71 minutes, when Kwon exchanged a neat one-two with Lee Jaesung on the edge of the area before firing a left-foot shot past Ibrahim Alma to score his tenth goal for Korea Republic – netting three goals in four matches recently.

Korea Republic maintained the two-goal lead to round off the comprehensive win and claim their ticket to the world finals. They are up against Iran at home on 24 March, before taking on UAE on the road to finish their qualifying campaign on 29 March.

Asian Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Final Round, Group A

Syria 0-2 Korea Republic

Scorers: Kim Jinsu 53’, Kwon Changhoon 71’

KOR: Kim Seunggyu; Kim Jinsu, Kim Younggwon, Kim Minjae, Kim Taehwan; Paik Seungho; Lee Jaesung (Kim Jingyu 90’), Hwang Inbeom, Jeong Wooyeong (Kwon Changhoon 46’); Cho Guesung (Lee Dongjun 69’), Hwang Uijo (Kim Gunhee 90’)