Japan, Qatar highlight threat to Aussies
Monday, 8 September 2008
DUBAI, Sept 7 (AFP) Japan and Qatar clinched crucial World Cup wins in the crushing humidity of the Gulf Saturday to hammer home a double warning to Australia of the dangers ahead on the road to the World Cup finals. brJapan beat Bahrain 3-2 in Manama while Qatar eased past Uzbekistan 3-0 in Doha to get Group One of the final round of Asian qualifiers off to a flying start. brNorth Korea, meanwhile, defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in Abu Dhabi to gain an early advantage in Group Two where regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran fought out a 1-1 stalemate in Riyadh. brShunsuke Nakamura, Yasuhito Endo and Kengo Nakamura gave Japan a 3-0 lead before Salman Isa and a Marcus Tanaka own-goal gave Japanese coach Takeshi Okada a nervous wait for the full time whistle in Manama.