Japan trounced hapless Tajikistan 8-0 in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday as Asia’s big guns fired and Iran launched a security crackdown before their clash with Bahrain.
Australia looked sure to progress after a 3-0 win over Oman kept them on maximum points in Group D, while South Korea moved toward the last stage with a 2-1 win against United Arab Emirates.
Thailand held Frank Rijkaard’s Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw, but North Korea’s hopes of reaching a second World Cup in a row suffered a setback with a 1-0 home loss to Uzbekistan.
Photo: AFP
Iraq edged a tense clash with China 1-0 and there were also wins for Jordan and Qatar as 10 games swung into action across the region.
Rampant Japan were the big winners as they totted up four goals in each half against Tajikistan in Osaka, led by Mike Havenaar and Shinji Okazaki, who both bagged a brace.
“This victory gives us a very good feeling. I knew hopes among fans were high. The players responded with their good performance today,” coach Alberto Zaccheroni said.
Photo: AFP
South Korea had a second-half own-goal to thank as United Arab Emirates defender Ismail Hamdan’s inadvertent strike helped them to a 2-1 win in Suwon. Arsenal’s Park Chu-young had opened the scoring and the Emirates pulled one back in second-half stoppage-time.
In Sydney, Brett Holman, Josh Kennedy and Mile Jedinak were all on the scoresheet as Australia registered their third win out of three and look certain to progress.
“The target was to win and to win well,” captain Lucas Neill said. “Now we’ve got one foot in the next round, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
In Pyongyang, Alexander Geynrikh’s first-half strike was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Uzbekistan, who are level on seven points with Japan at the top of Group C.
North Korea, who lashed out against their low FIFA ranking after being drawn in a tough group for the third round of qualifying, would have targeted the Uzbekistan clash in Pyongyang as a must-win as they scrap for the second qualifying spot.
North Korea competed at their first World Cup since 1966 last year, but they disappointed at the Asian Cup in January after being bracketed with holders Iraq and three-time winners Iran in another unkind draw.
Jordan took a big step toward their first berth in the final qualifying stage with a 3-0 away win over Singapore, while Qatar came out on top of a 3-2 slug-fest against Indonesia in Jakarta.
China’s former Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho admitted the defeat to Iraq, who played 25 minutes with 10 men, had put their qualification hopes in jeopardy.
“It’s going to be difficult to qualify from here, but it’s not impossible. We will try harder in the next game to see what we can do,” Camacho said.
Rijkaard, who was hired for Saudi Arabia’s World Cup campaign, may also come under pressure after failing to win any of his first three matches.
“The Saudi team still have a chance because we will play Thailand on our home soil as Oman lost to Australia,” the former Barcelona boss said.
Meanwhile in Tehran, security was ramped up at Iran’s Azadi Stadium following political tensions with Group E rivals and Gulf neighbors Bahrain over Manama’s tough clampdown on Shiite dissidents.
Lebanon drew 2-2 with Kuwait in Beirut in Group B.
The winners and runners-up of the five groups will be drawn into two pools for the round-robin fourth stage, with the eventual top two in each section earning a ticket to the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
The two third-placed teams in the two pools will then face each other for the right to contest an intercontinental playoff.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two