Pakistan, June 7 -- China slumped out of World Cup contention before Uzbekistan and Jordan qualified for the first time. In the meantime, South Korea secured an 11th straight appearance at the men's World Cup finals with a 2-0 win in Iraq.

In a hectic night Thursday with a lot on the line, Australia scored late to edge already-qualified Japan 1-0 before China lost 1-0 in Indonesia. For Uzbekistan, a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates was enough to take the second automatic qualification spot in Group A behind Iran.

In Group B, South Korea and Jordan secured their places at the 2026 global tournament to be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ali Olwan scored three goals in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman.

In Group C, a fir...