Doha: Captain Akram Afif led from the front, scoring a goal and providing three assists, as Qatar secured a much-needed 5-1 victory over North Korea in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday.
With a resounding win essential to revive their campaign for automatic qualification to the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the reigning Asian champions delivered a dominant performance that delighted their home fans at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Afif opened the scoring in the 17th minute, calmly converting a corner kick from Mostafa Meshaal. He then turned provider in the 23rd minute, delivering a brilliant through pass to set up Ahmed Al Ganehi for Qatar’s second.
In the 34th minute, an own goal from North Korea's Kim Yu-Song gave Qatar a commanding 3-0 lead before halftime.
Qatar extended their lead in the second half, with Ahmed Al Rawi scoring in the 56th minute and substitute Ahmed Alaa netting the fifth goal just four minutes after coming off the bench in the 62nd minute. Both goals were assisted by Afif.
Pak Kwang-Hun’s header from Ryang Kwang Myong’s cross in 86th minute earned a consolation goal for North Korea.
With the win, Qatar moved to 10 points, leveling with third-placed United Arab Emirates, who lost 2-0 to Iran in Tehran.
Iran consolidated their top spot in Group A with 19 points, while Uzbekistan strengthened their second-place position with 16 points following a 1-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in Tashkent.
Qatar will now face Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on Tuesday, before wrapping up their group campaign with matches against Iran on June 5 and Uzbekistan on June 10.
The top two teams from the group will secure automatic qualification for the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams will advance to an additional round of qualifying.
North Korea (2 points) are on the bottom of six-team group with Kyrgyzstan (3 points) in fifth place.
