Japan, N Korea on top in Asia World Cup qualifying
Monday, 30 March 2009
HONG KONG, Mar 29(AFP): Victories for Japan and North Korea left them top of their pools after Saturday's Asian World Cup qualifying action.
The goal by Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura two minutes after the break for Japan at home to Bahrain in Saitama earned a 1-0 victory, meaning they lead group A by on e point from Australia.
North Korea's Pak Choi-Jin and Mun In-Guk found the net as they beat United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Pyongyang to leave them top of Group B by two points from neighbours South Korea.
In the other two matches, Uzbekistan beat Qatar 4-0 in Tashkent in Group A, while Saudi Arabia had a very useful 2-1 victory in Iran in Group B.
The top two from the five-team groups qualify for South Africa next year automatically, while the third-placed teams play off for the right to meet Oceania champions New Zealand with a further spot at stake.
The goal by Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura two minutes after the break for Japan at home to Bahrain in Saitama earned a 1-0 victory, meaning they lead group A by on e point from Australia.
North Korea's Pak Choi-Jin and Mun In-Guk found the net as they beat United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Pyongyang to leave them top of Group B by two points from neighbours South Korea.
In the other two matches, Uzbekistan beat Qatar 4-0 in Tashkent in Group A, while Saudi Arabia had a very useful 2-1 victory in Iran in Group B.
The top two from the five-team groups qualify for South Africa next year automatically, while the third-placed teams play off for the right to meet Oceania champions New Zealand with a further spot at stake.