Uzbekistan and Jordan have qualified for their first World Cups, while South Korea have also secured their place at the tournament.

They become the eighth, ninth and 10th teams to confirm their spots at the expanded 48-team tournament in United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.

The three hosts have qualified automatically, while the latest trio to qualify join Japan, New Zealand, Iran and Argentina.

Uzbekistan drew 0-0 with the United Arab Emirates while South Korea beat Iraq 2-0 later in the day to qualify for their 11th straight World Cup, a result that meant Jordan’s 3-0 win against Oman confirmed their historic qualification.

Ranked 57th in the world and, with a population of 36 million, Uzbekistan played their first match as a sovereign nation in June 1992 after leaving the Soviet Union, and were accepted by world governing body Fifa two years later.

The closest Uzbekistan came previously to qualifying was during a controversial campaign in 2006, when they were in a two-legged playoff against Bahrain to determine who would be the Asian Football Confederation’s representative to face Concacaf’s Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of that match would then qualify for the finals in Germany.

Uzbekistan won the first leg 1-0, but a refereeing error led to Fifa ordering the match be played again, and they ultimately lost out on away goals.

The Uzbeks, however, have qualified for every Asian Cup finals since 1996 and progressed to the knockout phase in each appearance since 2004, including a run to the semi-finals in 2011 and the quarter-finals last year.

Asian Cup runners up Jordan are ranked 62nd in the world and are competing in their seventh World Cup qualifiers, since their first in 1986.

The closest they have previously come to qualifying was losing an intercontinental play-off to Uruguay in 2014.

So how does World Cup qualifying work?