Japan and Qatar clinched crucial World Cup wins in the crushing humidity of the Gulf on Saturday to hammer home a double warning to Australia of the dangers ahead on the road to the World Cup finals.
Japan beat Bahrain 3-2 in Manama, while Qatar eased past Uzbekistan 3-0 in Doha to get Group 1 of the final round of Asian qualifiers off to a flying start.
North Korea, meanwhile, defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in Abu Dhabi to gain an early advantage in Group 2, where regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran fought out a 1-1 stalemate in Riyadh.
PHOTO: AP
Shunsuke Nakamura, Yasuhito Endo and Kengo Nakamura gave Japan a 3-0 lead before Bahrain’s Salman Isa and a Marcus Tanaka own-goal gave Japanese coach Takeshi Okada a nervous wait for the whistle in Manama.
“We were in control right through,” Okada said. “We panicked during the last 10 minutes when we gave away two goals. But this could be the best way to win the game for us as, more than the goal difference, we were able to learn something.”
In Doha, Qatar, who have never reached the World Cup finals, stunned Uzbekistan with a scintillating display that delighted coach Jorge Fossati.
Mejdi Seddiq fired the Qataris ahead in the 37th minute, before Uruguayan-born Sebastien Quintana set up Majed Mohammed for the second goal. Qatar put the issue beyond doubt with a third from Talal al-Bloushi.
“I’ve said before we want to win all our matches and today’s fantastic victory will give us the confidence for the future,” Fossati said.
Only the top two teams in each of the two groups are guaranteed places in South Africa.
The two third-placed nations will play-off, with the winner then taking on New Zealand, the Oceania zone victors, for a spot in the finals.
Australia, who make up Group 1, travel to Tashkent on Wednesday to face Uzbekistan and they will be buoyed by an impressive 2-1 friendly win over the Netherlands in Eindhoven on Saturday.
In Group 2, North Korea, bidding to reach the finals for the first time since 1966, edged the United Arab Emirates 2-1.
Basheer Saeed deflected a harmless cross into his own goal in the 72nd minute to give North Korea the lead, with substitute An Chol-hyok adding the second in the 80th minute.
Saeed made up for his unfortunate mistake in the 85th minute, when his long-range kick found its way into the North Korean goal, but it was too late for Bruno Metsu’s men.
“I’m very disappointed because we created several chances and could have scored on more than two occasions,” Metsu said.
Iran coach Ali Daei was relieved with a point from their 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia, who are chasing a place in a fifth successive World Cup finals.
The Iranians were trailing 1-0 after Saad Al Harthi gave Saudi a 29th minute lead, but Javad Nekounam’s equalizer ensured a share of the spoils.
“The match was difficult for both sides as they are two of the strongest teams in Asia,” Daei said. “Saudi Arabia were the better side in the first half, but we stormed back after the break and took possession and created many scoring chances.”
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