The South Korean national soccer team remains in second place in Group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying preliminaries after its match with Iran ended in a scoreless draw on Thursday in Seoul.
 
The result means Team Korea’s hopes of securing their ninth consecutive trip to the World Cup are still up in the air.
 
On September fifth South Korea will face Uzbekistan, who is ranked third in the four-member Group A, in what may be the team’s last chance to qualify.
 
In Asia, only the top two teams from Groups A and B will advance directly to the World Cup to be held in Russia. 
 
Group B Japan secured their spot Thursday by beating Australia 2-0.