HONG KONG: Uzbekistan and Jordan will look to secure debut appearances at the World Cup as the pair on Thursday attempt to confirm their progress to next year’s finals while South Korea are also closing in on qualification.

Timur Kapadze’s Uzbekistan side take on the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi knowing a draw will earn the Central Asians a berth among the 48 nations in North America, while Jordan could also advance with a win over hosts Oman.

The Koreans, one of Asia’s World Cup regulars, will confirm their participation at an 11th consecutive finals with a draw against Iraq in Basra.

Japan and Iran have already taken two of the confederation’s increased allocation of eight guaranteed spots in the United States, Canada and Mexico as the top two finishers in each of Asia’s three preliminary groups advance automatically.

The nations finishing in third and fourth will progress to a further round of preliminaries for the pair of remaining slots while those in fifth and sixth will be eliminated.

Uzbekistan sit second in Group A three points behind Iran, who play Qatar in Doha, and lead the third-placed United Arab Emirates by four points ahead of the final two matches in the third phase of qualifiers.

South Korea, meanwhile, are in pole position in Group B on 16 points and a draw with Iraq in Graham Arnold’s first game as head coach of the Gulf nation will take Hong Myung-bo and his team into yet another World Cup draw.

The Iraqis, currently third in the table, need a point to keep their hopes of automatic qualification alive as second-placed Jordan would progress with a win over Oman should Arnold’s side lose to the Koreans.

Oman sit in fourth place on 10 points, and victory over the Jordanians will keep Rashid Jaber’s outfit in contention for a first World Cup ticket.

Australia take on Japan in Perth knowing a win against Hajjime Moriyasu’s already-qualified Group C winners might not be enough to confirm their progress on Thursday.

Tony Popovic’s Socceroos lead Saudi Arabia by three points with two matches left, meaning a win for Herve Renard’s side away to Bahrain would see the remaining Group C berth decided when Australia face the Saudis next Tuesday.

However, a win for the Australians against a Japan side featuring a host of uncapped players and defeat for the Saudis in Riffa would confirm the Socceroos’ passage to a sixth consecutive World Cup.

NEW YORK:  FIFA’s billion-dollar gamble to revolutionize club football begins a week on Sunday with plenty of cash up for grabs but questionable enthusiasm as 32 teams prepare to contest the expanded Club World Cup in 12 stadiums across the United States.

The tournament — designed as a glittering showcase ahead of the 2026 World Cup — has had to contend with the prospect of empty seats along with controversial qualification rules and player welfare concerns after an exhausting European season.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami face Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli in the opening fixture on June 15 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, with tickets still widely available days before kickoff.

A glance at FIFA’s website shows lots of tickets available, including for the July 13 final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

Messi’s presence underscores the tournament’s contentious foundations.

Inter Miami gained entry by topping Major League Soccer’s regular season standings, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs – a decision critics say shows FIFA’s desperation to have the Argentina great at their inaugural showpiece.

FIFA’s decision to give the host nation a spot and award it to Inter Miami underlined the opaque nature of the qualifying criteria for the tournament, which won’t feature Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli who have all just been crowned champions of three of the most prestigious leagues in Europe.

Apart from the winners of each confederation’s premier club competitions, teams qualified according to a ranking based on their performances over a four-year period.

There is also the case of Club Leon, the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, who were excluded from the tournament just over a month ago due to having shared ownership with another qualifier. The spot has gone to MLS’s Los Angeles FC.

Rights deal

Nailing down a last-gasp $1 billion TV rights deal with sports streaming platform DAZN six months before the tournament means a total of $2 billion in expected revenues.

That led FIFA to announce a total prize pot of $1 billion, with the winning club to receive up to $125 million.

That figure represents 25 perceent more than Paris St. Germain earned from their entire 17-match Champions League campaign.

But this largesse has not quelled concerns about player welfare, with the global players union FIFPro taking legal action against FIFA over a tournament that further compresses the precious recovery time between gruelling seasons.

Furthermore there is still concern over the playing surfaces after last season’s Copa America, when many headlines focused on the sub-par conditions and smaller pitch dimensions.

Those pitches, measuring 100 by 64 meters, were 740 square meters smaller than FIFA’s standard size, prompting widespread discontent among players and coaches.

FIFA has given assurances that this time the NFL stadiums hosting the matches will meet their specifications, confirming that all venues will feature natural grass and adhere to the standard regulation dimensions of 105 by 68 meters.

Divided into eight groups of four teams, top contenders include Real Madrid, winners of six of the last 12 Champions League titles, plus German champions Bayern Munich and 2023 Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester City.

European champions Paris St. Germain are the in-form team heading into the tournament after their historic 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday.

But they must survive a tough Group B featuring South American and Brazilian champions Botafogo and 2024 CONCACAF winners Seattle Sounders plus Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

Whether you call it soccer or football, for FIFA the tournament represents a dress rehearsal and a referendum on America’s appetite for the sport and on the world governing body’s vision for its commercial future ahead of the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.