Australia struggle in World Cup qualifying as Son lifts South Korea
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Son Heung-min scored a stunning goal as South Korea got off the mark in Asian World Cup qualifying.
HONG KONG (AFP) – Australia failed to score for the second successive match, China slumped to another defeat but Son Heung-min scored a stunning goal as South Korea got off the mark in Asian World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Japan won their second successive Group C match by defeating Bahrain 5-0 in Riffa, meaning the continent’s best-ranked side have scored 12 unanswered goals across two matches.
Graham Arnold's Socceroos, having been shocked at home 1-0 by Bahrain last week, dominated their Group C encounter with Indonesia but were held 0-0 in front of almost 80,000 fans at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
Australia carved out a succession of chances but lacked any cutting edge, coming closest when Bayern Munich teenager Nestory Irankunda thundered a shot against the post.
"It was our game all along," Irankunda said. "We should have won it. We should have put them away in the first half."
Next month, Arnold's men face China at home and then a tough trip to in-form Japan.
"There's eight games to go," said Arnold. "It's not like it's a disaster, but I've got to go home and do a lot of thinking."
Japan look the team to beat in the group, with the No.18-ranked country in the Fifa standings following last week’s opening 7-0 victory against China with another emphatic win.
Hajime Moriyasu’s men took the lead at Bahrain International Stadium just after the half hour through Ayase Ueda's powerful penalty, before the Feyenoord forward doubled the visitors’ advantage two minutes into the second half.
Another double, this time from Sporting CP’s Hidemasa Morita, put the game well out of the hosts’ reach, leaving Koki Ogawa to round off the scoring nine minutes from time.
Japan’s next opponents, Saudi Arabia, had to play the last 71 minutes of their Group C match against China in Dalian with 10 men, but Roberto Mancini's still side found a way to come back from a goal behind to win 2-1 in the dying seconds.
Hassan Kadish equalised with a header from a corner before half-time and repeated the feat in the last minute of the 90 to spark wild celebrations from the visitors.
China, thumped in Japan last week, had taken the lead in the 14th minute via an Ali Lajami own goal.
WILD WEATHER
South Korea's English Premier League strike force of Hwang Hee-chan and Son both scored as they beat Oman 3-1 in Muscat.
Wolverhampton's Hwang opened the scoring after 19 minutes before Jung Seungh-hyun's own goal equalised on the stroke of half-time.
Tottenham's Son got South Korea's second, turning outside the box and firing home an unstoppable left-foot finish on 82 minutes.
Joo Min-kyu put the result beyond doubt in the 11th minute of added time after being played in by Son.
It was South Korea's first win in the final Asian qualifying phase after they were held goalless at home by Palestine last week.
The Palestinians could not repeat their heroic performance in Seoul, however, and were beaten 3-1 by Jordan in a match played in Kuala Lumpur because of the war in Gaza.
North Korea drew 2-2 with Asian Cup champions Qatar in wild weather in a Group A match played in Vientiane.
Ri Il Song gave North Korea an early lead, in what was nominally their home fixture, before they were reduced to 10 men when Jang Kuk Chol was red carded for preventing a goal-scoring opportunity.
Akram Afif scored the resulting penalty and Almoez Ali put the Qataris 2-1 up at half-time.
After the break, the heavens opened violently, dumping huge amounts of water on the Laos National Stadium pitch.
Kang Kuk Chol pierced the gloom with a rasping free-kick equaliser from 30 yards before puddles on the pitch grew into lakes leaving the referee no choice but to take the players off.
There was a delay of more than 20 minutes until the rain eased but when the teams resumed there were no further goals as the players struggled on the waterlogged surface.
Also in Group A, perennial World Cup qualifiers Iran made it back-to-back 1-0 wins to begin the third round after seeing off the UAE at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
The visitors, sitting 20th in the Fifa standings, sealed the three points thanks to Mehdi Ghayedi’s finish deep into first-half stoppage time. Ghayedi plays his club football in the Emirates, for top-flight side Ittihad Kalba.
Following on from last week’s 1-0 triumph at home to Kyrgyzstan, the win lifts Iran second in the group, level on both points and goal difference with Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan beat Kyrgyzstan 3-2 in Bishkek.
In the matchday’s final Asian qualifiers fixture, Kuwait were held to a goalless draw in Group B by 10-man Iraq at Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
Iraq, the current Arabian Gulf Cup champions, found themselves a player down from the seventh minute, when Rebin Sulaka was eventually shown a straight red for tripping Kuwait captain Yousef Nasser as he was running through on goal.
The original decision was a yellow, but upon consulting VAR and watching back the incident, the referee upgraded the punishment.
However, Iraq held on for a draw, meaning they sit third in the group, level on four points with South Korea and Jordan above them. Kuwait are fourth.
The top two teams from each of the three six-team Asian groups will be guaranteed a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The third qualifying round wraps up in June.
