Fri, Mar 25, 2016 page20

• Vietnam beat Taiwan 4-1 in qualifier

  POINTLESS: Taiwan suffered their sixth straight defeat. In other games, Australia routed Tajikistan 7-0, Japan hammered Afghanistan 5-0 and South Korea beat Lebanon 1-0

  • By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with AFP
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  Taiwan fell to a 4-1 defeat against Vietnam in their final FIFA 2018 World Cup Asian Group F qualifier at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi last night.

  The visitors opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Wu Chun-ching, but the hosts equalized straight from the kickoff through Le Cong Vinh.

  Nguyen Van Toan then increased Vietnam’s lead in the 29th minute, before grabbing his second in the 42nd as the hosts went in to the break with a 3-1 lead.

  

  Japan’s Shinji Okazaki , left, and Afghanistan’s Masih Saighani vie for the ball in their FIFA World Cup qualifier in Saitama, Japan, yesterday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Cong Vinh added his second in the 91st minute to complete the rout.

  Taiwan finished pointless at the bottom of Group F after six straight defeats, while Vietnam were in third place on seven points. Group leaders Thailand were due to face Iraq in Tehran later last night.

  Elsewhere, Australia’s Socceroos posted their biggest win under manager Ange Postecoglou with a thumping 7-0 win over Tajikistan to hold their lead in their 2018 World Cup qualifying group in Adelaide, Australia, yesterday.

  Tokyo’s Nathan Burns and Celtic’s Tommy Rogic scored doubles as the Socceroos coasted to within one point of finishing on top of Group B ahead of the summit match with Harry Redknapp’s Jordan in Sydney on Tuesday.

  Australia ran to a 2-0 lead after 12 minutes with goals from Queens Park Rangers midfielder Massimo Luongo and a penalty from Crystal Palace’s national team skipper Mile Jedinak.

  However, the Socceroos were guilty of sloppy finishing and went to halftime still leading by two goals and should have been further in front.

  The Asian Cup champions again dominated the second half with new boy Apostolos Giannou earning his second penalty of the game and converted by substitute Mark Milligan in the 57th minute.

  The Socceroos were in full cry after that with Burns getting his first off a Aaron Mooy cross and Rogic scoring two quickfire goals in as many minutes just minutes after coming on for Luongo.

  Burns rounded off the scoring with a header off a cross from Henan Jianye rightback Ryan McGowan with three minutes of regulation time left.

  Australia’s win guarantees them to finish in the top two of Group B.

  “These games can become difficult. We knew they would sit off [in defense], but having such a quick start and scoring the goal, it was just a matter of time before they capitulated,” Postecoglou said. “We missed a fair few opportunities as well, which we spoke at halftime about finishing it off and to their credit the players did.”

  In Saitama, Japan, Leicester City striker Shinji Okazaki provided the spark as Japan overcame a slow start to steamroller Afghanistan 5-0 at home.

  Okazaki, whose goals have helped propel Leicester’s astonishing English Premier League title charge, pounced two minutes before halftime to give the Blue Samurai a lead they barely deserved.

  Finding himself in space on the edge of the box, Okazaki took full advantage to steer the ball inside the post for his 48th goal in 99 internationals after a frustrating first half from the Group E leaders in chilly Saitama.

  Hiroshi Kiyotake added a second 13 minutes after the break, before Hiroki Sakai’s attempted cross was deflected in and defender Maya Yoshida headed a fourth.

  Mu Kanazaki celebrated a bundled fifth as if he had won the World Cup for Japan, who improved to 19 points from seven games in the second round of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup.

  They round off their campaign on Tuesday against second-placed Syria, who began the evening just a point adrift and play Cambodia later.

  In Ansan, South Korea, South Korea beat Lebanon 1-0.
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