South Korea's players celebrated after winning the decisive qualifier against Syria ©Getty Images

South Korea have qualified for a 10th consecutive FIFA World Cup, with Iran also booking their place at the tournament in Qatar later this year.

The duo are the first Asian countries to qualify aside from Qatar, who automatically received a berth as the host nation.

Goals from Kim Jin-su and Kwon Chang-hoon helped South Korea beat Syria 2-0 in their Group A match today.

The win at the Rashid Stadium sees South Korea advance to what will be an 11th World Cup appearance overall.  

They have played at every tournament since Mexico 1986, with a fourth-place finish in 2002, the country's best-ever result, when they co-hosted with Japan.

War-torn Syria, who were not able to host the game and instead played in Sidon in Lebanon, threatened to take the lead on many occasions, and South Korea had the video assistant referee (VAR) to thank when Omar Khribin's header was ruled out for being offside.

However, Kim Jin-su headed South Korea into the lead in the 53rd minute, converting Kim Tae-hwan's cross for his second international goal, and substitute Kwon Chang-hoon doubled the lead 18 minutes later.

South Korea are second in Group A of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying, with 20 points from eight games.

Women were allowed to attend the World Cup qualifier between Iran and Iraq at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran ©Getty Images
Women were allowed to attend the World Cup qualifier between Iran and Iraq at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran ©Getty Images

Iran are two points ahead and booked their World Cup place on Sunday with a 1-0 triumph over Iraq.

Mehdi Taremi scored the winning goal, and also scored the winner today as Iran beat the United Arab Emirates by the same scoreline.

Both of Iran's games were played at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

Off the pitch, it was another landmark two days for Iranian women as they were able to attend FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time since 2019.

Female fans were kept away from sporting events in Iran for more than 30 years before FIFA ordered authorities to allow women inside stadiums without restrictions.

According to the Iranian Students News Agency, 2,000 of the 10,000 tickets sold were exclusively for women.

The top two teams in each of the two groups in this final round of AFC qualifying qualify for the World Cup.

Iran and South Korea cannot be caught in Group A, with the UAE currently third on nine points.

The two third-placed teams will advance to a playoff, with the winner in turn advancing to the inter-continental playoffs.

Saudi Arabia are top of Group B, on 19 points, and Japan have 18.

Third-placed Australia are on 15, with only two rounds of fixtures remaining.