Story highlights
Iraq score last-gasp winner to beat China 1-0 in World Cup qualifying
Japan, Uzbekistan and Jordan clinch places in second round of Asia qualifying
Congo DR score fine 3-1 win over Swaziland in African first round qualifier
Argentina booed off field after being held 1-1 by Bolivia in South America group
Iraq scored in injury time Friday to beat 10-man China 1-0 and all but end their opponent’s hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals.
The Asia Group A match in Doha was a mirror image of the side’s earlier clash in China a month ago, with Younis Mahmoud, who scored the only goal in Shenzhen, coming up trumps again in injury time.
China were handicapped by a red card for Zhang Linpeng and paid for missed chances.
Iraq, coached by former Brazil legend Zico, have moved into a strong position in the qualifying section, which is led by Jordan, who confirmed their place in the second stage by beating Singapore 2-0.
Jose Camacho’s China would have to win their final two games and see Iraq lose by a heavy margin to Jordan and Singapore to claim an unlikely second in the group.
“China played bravely, but we won the match and the result has almost guaranteed our place in the last ten,” Zico told the official FIFA website.
“The game went as we predicted. We knew China would attack, so we focused on defending in the first half before sealing victory late on.”
Japan and Uzbekistan joined Jordan in clinching qualification Friday, continuing their domination of Group C.
Japan routed Tajikistan 4-0 and Uzbekistan beat North Korea 1-0 with Timur Kapadze scoring the only goal of the match for the hosts.
The big surprise of the day was the 1-0 defeat for Group D leaders Australia in Oman with Amad Ali scoring the winner in the 18th minute.
Australia will still be expected to progress after four earlier wins, with Frank Rijkaard’s Saudi Arabia moving into second in the group after a 3-0 win over Thailand.
In Group B, South Korea stayed top by beating the UAE 2-0 and Mahmoud El Ali grabbed the only goal of the game as Lebanon shocked hosts Kuwait 1-0 to move into second.
Iran held on to top spot in Group E but needed an injury-time equalizer from Mojtaba Jabari to scramble a 1-1 draw in Bahrain.
Iran lead Qatar, who recorded a 4-0 home win over Indonesia, on goal difference.
In the first round of African qualifying, the outstanding result Friday was 3-1 win for the Congo DR in Swaziland with Togo held 1-1 in Guinea Bissau. Totttenham’s Emmanuel Adebayor is set to return for Togo in the second leg next Tuesday.
A star-studded Argentina side were held to a disappointing 1-1 home draw by Bolivia in their third match of qualifying from South America.
Argentina, boasting the likes of Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, found the visitors hard to break down and even fell behind as Martins Moreno scored in the second half.
It needed an equalizer from Ezequiel Lavezzi to salvage a point, with Argentina booed from the field.
