Japan beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in a foul-tempered qualifier yesterday as a debatable Hiroshi Kiyotake penalty boosted their hopes of qualifying for a sixth successive World Cup finals in 2018.
The Blue Samurai drew level with the Group B leaders on 10 points after a tempestuous clash in Saitama, where Kiyotake’s spot-kick and a Genki Haraguchi effort eased the pressure on under-fire coach Vahid Halilhodzic.
Saudi Arabia pulled a late goal back through Omar Othman.
Kiyotake converted on the stroke of halftime after Saudi defender Abdulmalek al-Khaibri was adjudged to have handled, despite replays showing Kiyotake’s initial shot had struck him in the chest.
Saudi Arabia protested furiously to referee Muhammad bin Jahari of Singapore and scuffles broke out between the players, which continued as they disappeared down the tunnel at the interval.
Haraguchi effectively killed off Saudi hopes of pinching a point with a sharp finish after 80 minutes.
Othman’s 90th-minute strike crept across the line in a moment of cruel irony for Japan, who had a similar effort disallowed in their 2-1 defeat to the United Arab Emirates, but Saudi hopes of snatching a draw were dealt a blow when Osama Hawsawi saw red for a clumsy challenge in stoppage-time.
In Seoul, Koo Ja-cheol’s late winner spared South Korea’s blushes as the hosts came from behind to beat Uzbekistan 2-1.
The Augsburg midfielder rifled home in the 85th minute, much to the relief of the home fans and coach Uli Steilike, whose evening had threatened to end in disaster.
Marat Bikmaev had given Uzbekistan a shock lead, but South Korea leveled through Nam Tae-hee, before Koo’s clincher put them level on points with Group A leaders Iran, who were due to take on Syria later yesterday.
In yesterday’s other qualifiers, Thailand held Australia to a 2-2 draw, while China were held goalless by Qatar.
S KOREA 9, TAIWAN 0
By Jason Pan
Staff reporter
South Korea’s women on Monday thrashed Taiwan 9-0 in Hong Kong in an East Asian Championships qualifier.
Taiwan could have advanced with a victory, but South Korea were too strong in every facet of the game as they scored four in the first half, then netted five times in the second against a porous Taiwan defense.
South Korea topped the group with three wins out of three after they had earlier crushed Guam 13-0 and Hong Kong 14-0.
Under Japanese coach Masayuki Nagira, Taiwan closed with 2-1 record after a 5-0 shutout of Hong Kong and an 8-1 pasting of Guam in their first two matches.
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
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