Aussies struggle in heat, big wins for Japan and South Korea

Asian 4th round:

GpA –  Lebanon 1-1 Uzbekistan  

GpA –  Qatar 1-4 South Korea

GpB –  Japan 6-0 Jordan  

GpB –  Oman 0-0 Australia  

Australia played their first match of the final round but struggled to make any impact as the 40-degree heat took its toll in Oman.

In a battle of Premier League goalkeepers, Mark Schwarzer was the busier of the two, with Oman’s Ali Al-Habsi rarely tested, but neither side could find a breakthrough as the game finished goalless.

In Group B’s other game, Japan continued their storming start to the final phase, with a crushing victory over Jordan.  Keisuke Honda scored a hat-trick, with Maeda Kagawa and Kurihara all finding the net.

That result means Japan already have a five-point lead at the top of the group, with all the other teams on one point after two rounds of games.

In Group A, South Korea got off to a winning start with a second-half rally against Qatar.  Youssef Ahmad Ali gave Qatar a surprise lead midway through the first half in Doha, but the home side were ahead for just four minutes with Lee Keun Ho equalising.

The Koreans stepped up a gear after half-time, adding three more to complete a 4-1 win.

In the other game, Lebanon and Uzbekistan post picked up their first point in the group, with a 1-1 draw in Beirut.  Jasur Hasanov gave Uzbekistan an early lead but Ali Al Saadi levelled things up for Lebanon on 33 minutes.

GROUP A played-points (goal difference)

1. South Korea 1-3 (+3)
2. Iran 1-3 (+1)
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3. Qatar 2-3 (-2)
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4. Lebanon 2-1 (-1)
4. Uzbekistan 2-1 (-1)




GROUP B

1. Japan 2-6 (+9)
2. Iraq 1-1 (0)
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3. Australia 1-1 (0)
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4. Oman 2-1 (-3)
5. Jordan 2-1 (-6)

Iran grab late win, strong start for Japan

Asian 4th round:

GpA –  Lebanon 0-1 Qatar  

GpA –  Uzbekistan 0-1 Iran  

GpB –  Japan 3-0 Oman  

GpB –  Jordan 1-1 Iraq  

Iran scored deep into stoppage time to take all three points in Uzbekistan as Asia’s final round of qualifying got underway.

Uzbekistan dominated the game but couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock and were made to pay right at the end of the game when Mohammad Khalatbari scored to snatch a vital victory for the Iranians.

Group A’s other game saw Qatar edge to victory over Lebanon.  Andres Quintana’s calm finish on 64 minutes was all that separated the sides, though Lebanon missed a golden opportunity to equalise late on when Youssef Mohamed volleyed wide when he only had the keeper to beat.

Lebanon face another huge home game later this week when they take on Uzbekistan, while South Korea will play their first game of this stage when they travel to Qatar.

In Group B, Japan enjoyed a comfortable evening against Oman, winning 3-0 in Saitama.  Keisuke Honda, Ryoichi Maeda and Shinji Okazaki were all on the scoresheet and the margin of victory could easily have been more.

With Australia sitting out this round of games, Jordan and Iraq missed the chance to capitalise, sharing a 1-1 draw in Amman.  Nashat Akram put Iraq ahead on 14 minutes but Ahmad Ibrahim equalised just before half-time.

Australia go to Oman for their first game next weekend.

Edgy start for Asian powers

Asian 3rd round:

Gp A –  China 2-1 Singapore

Gp A –  Iraq 0-2 Jordan 

Gp B –  South Korea 6-0 Lebanon

Gp B –  United Arab Emirates 2-3 Kuwait 

Gp C –  Japan 1-0 North Korea

Gp C –  Tajikistan 0-1 Uzbekistan

Gp D –  Australia 2-1 Thailand

Gp D –  Oman 0-0 Saudi Arabia 

Gp E –  Bahrain 0-0 Qatar

Gp E –  Iran 3-0 Indonesia

Asia’s top sides made winning starts to their World Cup campaigns but some of them were pushed all the way by lower-ranked opposition.

Asian champions Japan needed an injury time winner from Michihiro Masuda to beat fellow 2010 qualifiers North Korea 1-0 in Saitama.  The visitors finished with ten men after substitute Pak Kwang-Ryong was sent off.

A strong Australian side had to come from behind to beat Thailand 2-1 in Brisbane.  The Thais took a surprise early lead thanks to Teerasil Dangda.  They remained in front at the break but Australia equalised on 58 minutes with a goal from Josh Kennedy.  The points looked set to be shared until substitute Alex Brosque scored his first international goal with four minutes remaining to seal victory for the Socceroos.  The Aussies have an early advantage in Group D over Saudi Arabia, who were held to a goalless draw by Oman.

Another team that came from behind was China.  They trailed 1-0 at half-time at home to Singapore, after veteran Aleksandar Duric had put the visitors ahead on 33 minutes.  But the game turned on its head with 20 minutes to go when China equalised through a Zheng Zhi penalty.  Minutes later Yu Hai’s goal wrapped up all three points for the Chinese.

In the same group, Jordan overcame a 10-minute delay due to a floodlight failure to win 2-0 in Iraq.

Things were much more straightforward for South Korea, who brushed aside Lebanon 6-0, thanks to a hat-trick by new Arsenal signing Park Chu-Young.

Kuwait, looking to qualify for the first time since 1982, had to endure a brave fightback from the United Arab Emirates to seal all three points in their Group B opener.  Kuwait led 3-0 but two UAE goals in the last six minutes set up a nervous finish.

Tajikistan are enjoying a second bite of the World Cup cherry after Syria were thrown out of the competition for fielding an ineligible player in their second round tie.  And it looked like they were going to earn a point at home to Uzbekistan, but Maksim Shatskikh’s goal on 72 minutes meant it was a winning start to the group stages for the Uzbeks, as they look to reach the finals for the first time.

Iran got their Group E campaign off to a solid start as they beat Indonesia 3-0.   All three goals came in the second half with Spanish-based Javad Nekounam scoring two of them.  Bahrain and Qatar played out a 0-0 draw in Manama.

Crowd violence mars Asian second round

Asian 2nd round, 2nd leg:

 Bangladesh 2-0 Lebanon  (2-4 on aggregate)

 Burma 0-2 Oman  (abandoned due to crowd trouble) (0-4 on aggregate)

 Hong Kong 0-5 Saudi Arabia  (0-8 on aggregate)

 India 2-2 United Arab Emirates  (2-5 on aggregate)

 Indonesia 4-3 Turkmenistan  (5-4 on aggregate)

 Kyrgyzstan 0-3 Uzbekistan  (0-7 on aggregate)

 Laos 1-6 China  (3-13 on aggregate)

 Malaysia 1-1 Singapore  (4-6 on aggregate)

 Maldives 0-1 Iran  (0-5 on aggregate)

Nepal 1-1 Jordan  (1-10 on aggregate)

 Palestine 2-2 Thailand  (2-3 on aggregate)

 Philippines 1-2 Kuwait  (1-5 on aggregate)

 Tajikistan 0-4 Syria  (1-6 on aggregate)

 Vietnam 2-1 Qatar  (2-4 on aggregate)

 Yemen 0-0 Iraq  (0-2 on aggregate) (played in the UAE)

The qualifying match between Burma and Oman had to be abandoned due to crowd violence.  Oman had just taken a 2-0 lead in the second leg, thanks to a disputed penalty when the crowd in Yangon began to pelt the referee, visiting players and Oman manager Paul Le Guen with bottles and stones.  The trouble continued during the second half and the players were forced off  the field before full-time.  Zaw Zaw, President of the country’s football federation appealed for calm but his appeals fell on deaf ears, causing the match to be abandoned.

With the qualifying draw just two days away, it is highly unlikely FIFA will order the match to be replayed and it looks almost certain Oman will advance to the group stage.  Meanwhile, Burma could face severe consequences following the violence and could be forced to play future qualifying matches behind closed doors or at a neutral venue.  That is if they escape a ban from the governing body.

The rest of the line-up for Asia’s group stages was completed on a day that saw over 80,000 passionate Malaysian fans go home disappointed after their side was edged out by Singapore.  Trailing 5-3 from the first leg, Mohd Sali’s second half strike put Malaysia one goal away from an away goals victory but Jia Yi Shi’s goal on 73 minutes calmed Singapore’s nerves and saw them through to Round 3.

Palestine had a frantic finish to their match with Thailand.  1-0 down after the first leg, Palestine scored an early goal, only for Thailand to equalise before half-time.  It looked set to stay that way until a burst activity late on which saw both teams score and Palestine’s Khadir Yosef sent off.

The football fever that has gripped the Philippines in recent weeks is set to disappear for now as the Azkals bowed out of the competition at the hands of Kuwait.  Trying to overturn a 3-0 deficit, Stephan Schrock’s goal on the stroke of half-time gave the home fans hope.  But Kuwait fought back in the second half, scoring twice, despite being reduced to ten men, to seal a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Indonesia held off a late fightback by Turkmenistan to book their place in the next round.  After the first leg ended 1-1, Indonesia stormed to a 3-0 half-time lead, thanks to two goals from Uruguay-born Cristian Gonzalez.  With ten minutes to go, Turkmenistan found themselves 4-1 down and down to ten men, but managed two goals in quick succession to ensure a nervous finish for the home side.  Indonesia held on and are the only unseeded team to go through to the group stages.

Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Yemen and Nepal all restored some pride after heavy first leg defeats, while China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Syria all completed comfortable aggregate victories.

No surprises in Asia as Round 2 begins

Asian 2nd round, 1st leg:

 China 7-2 Laos 

 Iran 4-0 Maldives

 Iraq 2-0 Yemen

 Jordan 9-0 Nepal

 Kuwait 3-0 Philippines

 Lebanon 4-0 Bangladesh

 Oman 2-0 Burma

 Qatar 3-0 Vietnam

 Saudi Arabia 3-0 Hong Kong

 Singapore 5-3 Malaysia

 Syria 2-1 Tajikistan

 Thailand 1-0 Palestine

 Turkmenistan 1-1 Indonesia

 United Arab Emirates 3-0 India

 Uzbekistan 4-0 Kyrgyzstan

There were no surprises as the second round of qualifying got underway in Asia.

The matches saw a number of past qualifiers enter the fray, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and China.

It was China who came closest to a shock defeat, as they found themselves 2-0 down at home to Laos after just half an hour.  It looked like a huge upset was on the cards but the introduction of substitute  Yang Xu turned the game in China’s favour.  He scored on the stroke of half-time and went on to complete a hat-trick in the second half as China eventually ran out 7-2 winners.

The game of the day came in Singapore where south-east Asian rivals Malaysia went ahead in the first minute before the hosts powered to a 4-1 lead at half-time.  Malaysia fought back in the second half, scoring twice in the space of a minute to make it 4-3 with 20 minutes left to play.  But it was Singapore who had the last laugh when Bosnian-born 40-year-old Aleksandar Duric, a former Olympic canoeist, scored his second goal of the game to give Singapore a 5-3 win.

Thailand dominated their game against Palestine but were wasteful in front of goal and will be disappointed to only lead 1-0 after the first leg.  An injury time penalty miss summed up Thailand’s night and Palestine will remain hopeful of reaching the group stage.

Iraq played their first World Cup qualifier at home in almost a decade and treated their fans to a 2-0 win over Yemen.

The biggest winners of the day were Jordan who put nine past Nepal, Hasan Abdel Mahmoud scoring four.

India found themselves reduced to nine men after just 23 minutes against the United Arab Emirates.  The UAE scored from the resulting penalties but could only manage one goal in the second half, despite their two-man advantage.

Iran were 4-0 winners against the Maldives.  A comprehensive victory, though not as comprehensive as their first World Cup meeting back in 1997, when Iran won 17-0.

Saudi Arabia have suffered a major dip in form in recent years but got off to a winning start against Hong Kong and will take a 3-0 advantage into the second leg.

Azkalitis has gripped the Philippines in recent weeks but former qualifiers Kuwait look like eradicating the fever after a 3-0 win.

2022 qualifiers Qatar also won 3-0, leaving Vietnam with a mountain to climb to reach the next round.

Uzbekistan had an encouraging run to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup in January and are off to a confident start, beating Kyrgyzstan 4-0.

Syria beat Tajikistan 2-1 but the visitors will take a valuable away goal into the second leg.

Lebanon bounced back from their humilating midweek friendly defeat against the UAE (see video below) by beating Bangladesh 4-0, while Oman scored a goal in each half to beat Burma 2-0.

The only seeded team not to win was Turkmenistan, who finished with ten men as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Indonesia on what looked to be a shockingly bad pitch.

The second leg matches are all scheduled to take place on Thursday.