Australia kept their 100 percent World Cup qualifying record intact with a last-gasp 1-0 win over Bahrain on Wednesday, while Group One rivals Japan secured a crucial 3-0 victory in Qatar.
The result left the Socceroos with nine points from three wins out of three and Japan in second two points adrift, with Qatar on four points after four games. Bahrain and Uzbekistan remain locked at the bottom on one point.
In Group Two, Iran were left frustrated after coming away with just a point after drawing 1-1 against the United Arab Emirates, but South Korea were left happy after posting a 2-0 away win over Saudi Arabia.
PHOTO: AP
South Korea moved to top spot in the group on seven points from three matches, Iran in second on five, and North Korea and Saudi Arabia locked for third spot on four points. The UAE remain winless in fifth and final place.
The top two teams in each group in the Asian qualifiers will claim automatic berths for the 2010 World Cup, while the third-placed teams will play each other home-and-away with the winner advancing to the inter-confederation play-off with New Zealand.
In Manama, Australia left it late against Bahrain, the all-important goal coming three minutes into injury time, and against the run of play, when Palermo midfielder Marco Bresciano beat a couple of defenders to shoot past goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer.
“Bahrain played very well and we didn’t but we were lucky to get these three points. We did not deserve it. We would have been happy with one point,” Australia’s Dutch coach Pim Verbeek said.
“It was a top game but we never really had any control over this game. I tried to change a few things in the second-half as we were running backwards in the first,” he said.
A rejuvenated Japan outclassed Qatar in Doha with Tatsuya Tanaka, Kieji Tamada and Tulio Tanaka scoring for a comprehensive 3-0 win to energize their campaign after a lackluster 1-1 home draw with Uzbekistan earlier had prompted calls from some critics for coach Takeshi Okada’s sacking.
“We always expected to win but we thought it would be a close match,” Okada said.
Bruno Metsu, under whom Qatar have now conceded seven goals in two World Cup qualifying games, admitted his players were outclassed.
“We didn’t play well at all,” the Frenchman said. “We didn’t create many chances, nor did we defend properly.”
In Group Two, Iran’s plans of getting full points against hosts UAE were dashed when they were held to a 1-1 draw.
The visitors were completely dominated at the Al Maktoum Stadium and it was only a late goal against the run of play which fetched them a point.
They also had goalkeeper Seyed Rahmati to thank for several magical saves.
The UAE, who lost two key players, Ali Abbas and Subait Khater, even before the match began when they were penalized for breaking the team curfew, took the lead in the 19th minute through their captain Abdulraheem Jumaa.
Fittingly, it was Iran captain Karim Bagheri who restored parity for his side in the 80th minute.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS