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)
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but