There were celebrations Sunday for heavyweights Australia, Japan, the two Koreas, Saudi Arabia and Iran who all powered into the final phase of Asian World Cup qualifying. But it was tears for underachieving China who crashed out after losing 2-1 at home to Iraq.
Australia made sure of their place with a 3-1 win over Qatar to top Group One leaving the Gulf side and Iraq, who clash in Dubai next week, to battle for the second qualifying spot. One other slot remains undecided among the 10 teams who progress to the next round, with United Arab Emirates needing a draw against Syria in their final game in Group Five to go through.
Japan beat Thailand 3-0 and their progress was assured when Group Two rivals Bahrain drew 1-1 with Oman to also make the final stage. North Korea defeated Jordan 2-0 while South Korea eased past Turkmenistan 3-1 as the two neighbours went through from Group Three. Saudi Arabia beat Singapore 2-0 to join Uzbekistan in qualifying from Group Four while Iran ensured top spot in Group 5 with a 2-0 win in Syria.
But it was curtains for China who will finish bottom of Group One with coach Vladimir Petrovic's job hanging by a thread. China took the lead in Tianjin through Zhou Haibing in the 32nd minute but Emad Mohammed equalised seven minutes later and Nashat Akram sealed China's fate in the 65th minute. In Doha, Australia scored twice through Blackburn's Brett Emerton before a 75th minute strike by former Liverpool star Harry Kewell earned them a well-deserved victory.
Comments
Comments are closed.