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.
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