SEOUL, South Korea — Iran's World Cup hopes were in jeopardy after conceding a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw in its final group qualifying match at South Korea on Wednesday.

An own goal early in the second half put Iran up 1-0 and on course for at least a further qualifying playoff, but Park ji-sung's 81st-minute strike left Iran depending on North Korea winning away at Saudi Arabia in Wednesday's later qualifier.

If that match at Riyadh is drawn, Iran is eliminated. A North Korea win would give Iran third spot in Group B, and a further two-legged playoff against the third team from Group A — either Bahrain or Uzbekistan depending on the result of their Wednesday qualifier.

If Saudi Arabia wins and secures the automatic spot at South Africa 2010, it will come down to goal difference to determine which of Iran and North Korea places third.

In a tepid first half of few clear scoring opportunities, the best two fell to Iran.

In the 26th minute, Javad Nekounam's long-range effort was fumbled by veteran Korean goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae, and the onrushing Masoud Shojaei almost nicked the ball away with the net gaping, but Lee was just able to snatch the ball back.

Shojaei almost put Iran ahead in the 44th when he got past two opponents and put in a goal-bound shot that forced a fine diving save by Lee, who turned it around the post.

The opening goal, in the 51st minute, came in fortunate circumstances. Mohammad Nosrati floated in a cross from the left and Shojaei challenged for the header. Lee came off his line and was first to the ball but only parried it onto the body of defender Kim Dong-jin, and the ball rebounded into the net.

In the 63rd minute, there were good opportunities for both sides in quick succession. For Iran, Hossein Kaebi was released down the right and whipped in a cross to Shojaei, who opted not to take a first time shot from close range, but instead controlled the ball with his feet and tried to beat an opponent and was dispossessed.

Almost immediately at the other end, Park Chu-young beat the offside trap, neatly sidestepped two opponents in the penalty area, but his shot was blocked by the left foot of onrushing Iran keeper Seyed Rahmati.

In the 67th, Park Chu-young's expert freekick curved over the wall and hit the inside of the post, with Rahmati reduced to a spectator.

South Korea, though having already secured World Cup qualification, was determined to finish its campaign with a flourish, and attacked relentlessly in the closing stages.

The equalizer came via one of Park Ji-sung's trademark surging runs into the box. He exchanged passes with a teammate, then fired low, beating Rehmati at the near post.

The hosts had a chance to win in the final minute of regulation time, as substitute Cho Won-hee burst between two lunging defenders and almost rounded Rehmati, who got a despairing hand to the ball and a defender came into clear.

Lineups:

South Korea: Lee Woon-jae, Oh Beom-seok, Cho Yong-hyung, Kim Dong-jin (Lee Young-pyo 75), Park Ji-sung, Kim Jung-woo, Park Chu-young, Lee Keun-ho, Lee Jung-soo, Ki Sung-yueng (Yang Dong-hyen 75), Lee Chung-young (Cho Won-hee 45)

Iran: Seyed Rehmati, Mehdi Mahdavikia (Vahid Hashemian 87), Seyed Hosseini, Hadi Aghili, Javad Nekounam, Ali Karimi (Arash Borhani 75), Hossein Kaebi, Andranik Teymourian, Pejman Nouri, Mohammad Nosrati (Mohammad Khalatbari 86), Masoud Shojaei