The Korean Republic may not be the team that you instinctively think of when considering the World Cup, but when the big tournament kicks off again in South Africa next year, they will be present for their seventh world cup in a row.

It’s hard to stress how important this achievement is – you only have to consider some of the major nations that have been missing. European major players like France, Holland and Spain have all missed out in the past two decades and major footballing obsessed countries such as Scotland have not having been at World Cup this millennium.

The Korean Republic entered their match with the United Arab Emirates knowing that a victory would be enough to ensure their qualification, and they wasted no time in getting the match won.

A ninth minute goal sent them on their way and although both teams would be reduced to 10 men, a second strike for the Korean Republic not long after half time was all that they needed to ensure that they will once again be active on the biggest stage in world football.

They will be joined at the World Cup by Australia and Japan who both managed to avoid defeat in their sixth game to clinch enough points to seal the two automatic qualification spots from Group 1.

When the draw was made, there was not much doubt that Australia and Japan would qualify, but they still had to earn the points to make it through. Although both nations are very different, they both have a Celtic player on their books, striking a common bond that exists between them, apart from their winning streak.

Shunsuke Nakamura has been a key player for Japan on the major stage but Scott McDonald is yet to transfer his club form to the international stage. He can now look forward to next years World Cup with the hope of making a name for himself.

This means there is only one guaranteed Asian place left up for grabs with Saudi Arabia and Korean DPR battling it out. The Korea DPR team is currently in the coveted spot but they have played a game extra with only a point advantage and the Saudi’s can take second place if they avoid defeat against the Korean Republic in their next game.

After that though, comes a winner takes all match in Riyadh where Saudi Arabia play host to Korean DPR with both nations knowing a defeat would condemn them to a play off position. Group 1 is slightly more open with three points separating the bottom three sides. The destination of the play off spot is still very much up for grabs and ensures that there is plenty to play for in the remaining two rounds of fixtures.

The makeup of the Asian groups’ playoff will first see the teams who finished third in their respective groups play against each other in a two-legged affair. The victor of these games will then play New Zealand in a further play-off to see who will be joining the rest of the footballing fraternity at the World Cup.