Australia were grouped with Japan yesterday in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup, but avoided fellow heavyweights South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The teams were split into two groups of five during the draw at AFC House, with Bahrain, Uzbekistan and Qatar pitted alongside the Socceroos and Japan.
Joining South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia are North Korea and United Arab Emirates.
The top two in each group automatically make the finals in South Africa, while the two third-placed teams lock horns in a play-off with the winner battling the Oceania representative for a spot at the global showpiece.
Pim Verbeek’s Socceroos, seeded No. 1 because of their FIFA ranking, were always going to avoid the second-seeded South Korea, who have qualified for every World Cup finals since Mexico in 1986.
But three-time World Cup qualifiers Japan will be a tough obstacle for a team that made the knockout rounds at the last World Cup in Germany, before narrowly losing to eventual winners Italy.
Australia were in the same group as Japan at the 2006 finals and beat them 3-1, but the Japanese gained revenge at last year’s Asian Cup with a win on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Verbeek expects to have injured European aces Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka back for the final push to South Africa.
Goalscoring midfielder Cahill missed Australia’s earlier qualifiers after foot surgery, but is aiming to be back for Everton in August, while Newcastle United’s Viduka has struggled with an Achilles injury.
Dark horses Uzbekistan, who Rauf Inlieev has molded into an attacking side, will be Australia’s opening match away on Sept. 10. They finish at home to Japan.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
RSS