Last time out, in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan sealed all three points for his country who came out with a narrow win against the United Arab Emirates, while the Lions of Mesopotamia needed a late Amir Al Ammari penalty to salvage a draw at the death against Syria, who had taken the lead with 10 minutes to go. 

A win on Tuesday could lift Korea Republic above IR Iran if the latter fail to beat Syria, while a win for Iraq could see them overtake Lebanon into third place and position them for a late charge on the top two should the Cedars drop points against the UAE.

Paulo Bento’s men have not won a game by more than a one goal difference, and Iraq’s only loss came against IR Iran by a three-goal margin but they have been difficult to beat otherwise, as was proven on Matchday One when the two sides last met and the game ended in a goalless draw.

During that game, Korea Republic missed a number of chances, including a point  blank header by Hwang that was saved by a well positioned Fahad Talib, with fewer chances falling to Iraq whose most threatening player that day was Bashar Resan.

Prior to that game, the two sides had met competitively six years ago in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, when Lee Jeong-hyeob and Kim Young-gwon netted the goals in a 2-0 win in the semi finals.

Iraq head coach Dick Advocaat will know a thing or two about the side he coached back in 2005, and although none of the players from that squad are still playing, he will find former player Choi Tae-uk sitting on the bench as part of Bento’s staff. 

Iraq v Korea Republic
Venue: Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: Tuesday, 18:00 hours (UTC+3)