Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lived to fight another day, but it was curtains for Iraq and Syria as the last two berths in the final phase of Asian World Cup qualifying were filled.
They join Australia, Bahrain, Iran, Japan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan as the 10 teams who go into the draw on Friday.
The top two in each group will automatically progress to the 2010 World Cup finals, with the fifth placed team playing off against a side from Oceania, with the winner of that match joining them.
PHOTO: AP
In Dubai, Qatar snatched a vital 1-0 win away to Iraq, with Sayd Ali Bechir rising masterfully to meet a Hussein Yasser cross to score the only goal in the 77th minute.
It left Qatar second in Group 1, even on points with Australia, but behind on goal difference.
In Group 5, the United Arab Emirates advanced despite suffering a 3-1 defeat at home to Syria.
Jehad Alhoussain scored twice and Firas al-Khatib added a third for Syria, with Ismaeil Matar netting UAE’s only goal from the penalty spot.
That penalty would prove decisive, however, as the result left the two sides even on seven points, but the UAE’s superior goal difference (0, as opposed to Syria’s minus 1) was enough to send them through.
Iran defeated Kuwait 2-0 to finish as winners of the group.
Singapore scored twice in the space of a minute to win 2-1 against Lebanon in Group 4. The other match in that group saw Saudi Arabia defeat Uzbekistan 4-0.
In Group 2, Oman defeated Thailand 2-1 in Muscat.
■ AFRICA
AP, JOHANNESBURG
Seydou Keita scored a pair of goals six minutes apart midway through the second half and led Mali to a 3-0 victory over Sudan, putting them three points clear in their group with two matches to play.
Cameroon and Cape Verde continued their struggle for the Group 1 lead. Cameroon top the group with 10 points, and Cape Verde won 3-1 over Mauritius on Sunday to remain a point behind.
Guinea bolstered their chances on Sunday, Ismael Bangoura scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Namibia to climb to the top of Group 2 on goal difference. They have seven points, just ahead of Kenya, who played out a 0-0 draw in Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Benin top Group 3 after a 2-0 victory over Niger on Sunday. Angola’s match on Sunday with Uganda had to be postponed for a day when the officials did not arrive in time.
Ghana and Libya remained tied at the top of Group 5 with nine points each. Ghana won 2-0 against Gabon on Sunday to keep pace with Libya. Gabon have three points.
Ivory Coast took a major step toward the next round by beating Botswana 4-0 in Abidjan on Sunday, with Cisse Sekou scoring a brace in the second half. The victory improved the Ivorians to eight points at the top of Group 7. Mozambique remained four points off the lead with a 3-0 victory over Madagascar on Sunday.
Ethiopia kept their hopes alive in Group 8 with a 6-1 rout of Mauritania, giving them six points to stay within three of group leaders Morocco and Rwanda.
The Republic of Congo had a 2-0 victory over Chad on Sunday, with goals from Mouithis Lys and Ibara Frabcel. They remain three points behind Mali in Group 10.
In Group 12, Shabani Nonda scored two goals in the first half and added another in the second in Congo’s 5-1 victory over Djibouti, while Egypt won 2-0 against Malawi at home.
Sunday’s CONCACAF results:
• US 1, Barbados 0 (agg: 9-0)
• El Salvador 3, Panama 1 (agg: 3-2)
• Guyana 1, Suriname 2 (agg: 1-3)
• Bermuda 0, Trinidad and Tobago 2 (agg: 2-3)
• St. Lucia 1, Guatemala 3 (agg: 1-9)
• Cuba 4, Antigua and Barbuda 0 (agg: 8-3)
• Netherlands Antilles 0, Haiti 1 (agg: 0-1)
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
RSS