Asian powers Australia, Japan and South Korea all started their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaigns on Wednesday with wins.
Australia downed Qatar 3-0, Japan beat Thailand 4-1 and South Korea defeated a stubborn Turkmenistan 4-0.
Saudi Arabia also won, beating Singapore 2-0, but Iran were held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Syria.
The five Asian powers had byes through the first two stages of Asian qualifying but have been joined by 15 others.
Also on Wednesday, it was: Iraq 1, China 1; Oman 0, Bahrain 1; Jordan 0, North Korea 1; Lebanon 0, Uzbekistan 1; and United Arab Emirates 2, Kuwait 0.
The top two teams in each of the five four-nation groups advance to the fourth round of qualifying.
Four Asian teams will qualify automatically for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while a fifth will play in an intercontinental playoff against the top-ranked team from Oceania.
Iran, who are trying to qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time, played in Tehran without a full-time coach. Former Spain coach Javier Clemente is reported to be the man that will take over, but he has yet to sign a contract.
Hawar Mulla Mohammed gave Iraq a 1-0 lead in Dubai with a 50th-minute penalty, but China midfielder Zheng Zhi equalized in the 75th.
"We were clearly the better side," Iraq coach Egil Olsen said. "We really wanted to win this match to have a good chance of qualifying."
Iraq are playing their three home matches in Dubai because of the unstable situation at home.
Alaa Hubail scored in the 14th minute to help Bahrain beat Oman in Muscat, and Odel Ahmedov scored the only goal of the match in the 44th in Uzbekistan's win over Lebanon in Beirut.
Only about 200 invited guests watched the match because of a decision taken two years ago by the Lebanese soccer federation to prevent sectarian clashes between supporters of rival teams.
North Korea kept pace with South Korea by beating Jordan on Hong Yong Jo's free kick in the 42nd minute in Amman.
The United Arab Emirates got goals from Mohammed al-Shehhi and Faisal Khalil in their win over Kuwait. Al-Shehhi headed in a free kick from Subait Khater in the 13th minute, and Khalil scored off a corner kick in the 53rd.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS