South Korea became the 17th nation to...

South Korea became the 17th nation to qualify for next summer’s World Cup soccer tournament in Mexico when it defeated Japan, 1-0, in front of 80,000 fans at Seoul.

The South Koreans, who had won the first leg of the East Asia final in Tokyo, 2-1, last qualified for the World Cup in 1954, when the finals were held in Switzerland.

The West Asia qualifier will be decided in a home-and-away series between Syria and Iraq.

In other qualifying action, Australia defeated New Zealand, 2-0, in Sydney, to win the Oceania group. The Australians must play Scotland for a berth in the final 24 for the May 31-June 29 Mexico tournament.