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[Awards Review]
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▶ Iraq, Japan and UAE win as Bahrain shock
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[2024/09/08 ]
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Third round of AFC World Cup qualifying kicked off in dramatic fashion as Bahrain recorded a famous victory over the Socceroos, Iraq, Japan and UAE claimed wins while Palestine earned a famous draw.
AFC qualifying for FIFA World Cup 26™ resumed with a bang on Thursday, as shock victories, big wins and comeback chaos made it a day to remember across the continent.
 Bahrain were arguably the story of the day, as a late Harry Souttar own goal saw them stun Australia 1-0 on the Gold Coast. Palestine also muscled in on the headlines, as they held Korea Republic to a famous draw in Seoul. United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, came from behind to beat Qatar 3-1, while Kuwait netted an added-time penalty to earn a point against Jordan.
Elsewhere, Japan hit China PR for seven, there were narrow victories for Iraq, IR Iran, and Uzbekistan, while Saudi Arabia and Indonesia played out a draw in Jeddah.
Group A
Uzbekistan 1-0 Korea DPR
Uzbekistan had goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov to thank as his first-half penalty save preserved a 1-0 win for the hosts. The White Wolves took the lead midway through the opening period when Jaloliddin Masharipov swept home from eight yards out after a well-worked one-two with Sherzod Nasrullaev. Kang Kuk-Chol was then handed a gilt-edged chance to level matters from the spot just before the break, but Yusupov guessed right and pushed his penalty to safety. The result takes Uzbekistan's unbeaten FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers streak to seven games.
Qatar 1-3 United Arab Emirates
A second-half comeback from United Arab Emirates saw them shock Qatar in Al-Rayyan. A maiden international goal for Ibrahim Al-Hassan gave the hosts a first-half lead, only for their gulf neighbours to rally in the second period. First, Harib Abdalla beat two defenders and curled home a sumptuous equaliser in the 68th-minute, before Khaled Aldhanhani powered home a second with just ten minutes to go. The famous win was rubber-stamped in stoppage time, as Ali Saleh found the net.
IR Iran 1-0 Kyrgyz Republic
Mehdi Taremi's 51st goal for IR Iran proved the difference in Isfahan, as they sunk Kyrgyz Republic in their round three opener. After a frustrating opening 35 minutes for the hosts, they eventually made the breakthrough when Omid Noorafkhan's shot was spilled by goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotayev, allowing the Inter Milan forward to tap home the only goal of the game.
Group B
Korea Republic 0-0 Palestine
Palestine battled hard to secure an impressive point against Korea Republic in Seoul. Korea boast a formidable home record, having not lost a World Cup qualifier on their own turf since suffering 1-0 defeat against IR Iran in June 2013. Son Heungmin and Co could not find a way past Palestine, however, who will surely take huge confidence from a resilient, determined, performance.
Iraq 1-0 Oman
A terrific Aymen Hussein header confirmed all three points for Iraq and ensured the home side roared to a seventh straight FIFA World Cup 26 qualifying victory in Basra. It took just 13 minutes for the Lions of Mesopotamia to open the scoring, when a corner from the right found the head of Hussein who guided it into the top-left corner. Oman pushed for a leveller from then out and enjoyed the majority of the chances, but couldn't break down a stubborn Iraqi rearguard.
Jordan 1-1 Kuwait
A 94th-minute Yousef Nasser goal saved a point for Kuwait in Amman, as they denied Jordan a fifth consecutive qualifying victory. Mousa Al-Taamari netted his sixth goal of qualifying just under 15 minutes in when a corner was cleared only as far as Noor Alrawabdeh, who set up the Montpellier star to unleash an unstoppable left-footed effort. That looked to be the match-winner, until the fourth minute of stoppage time when Kuwait were awarded a spot-kick, which Nasser tucked away to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.
Group C
Australia 0-1 Bahrain
Bahrain struck late to record a shock win over Australia on the Gold Coast. With the Socceroos reduced to 10 players after Kusini Yengi was sent off 13 minutes from time, the away side took full advantage to kick off their round three campaign in style. The game’s decisive moment came in the 89th minute when Mahdi Humaidan’s cross was diverted into his own goal by the unfortunate Harry Souttar. Bahrain then saw out six minutes of stoppage time to seal a first-ever victory over Australia.
Japan 7-0 China PR
A rampant Japan swept aside China PR in Saitama. Headed efforts from Wataru Endo and Kaoru Mitoma put the hosts 2-0 up by half-time. A pair of superbly taken goals from Takumi Minamino shortly after the break took the game away from China, before Junya Ito’s deflected shot made it 5-0. Daizen Maeda got Japan's sixth, before Takefusa Kubo's powerful strike rounded off a scintillating performance from Hajime Moriyasu's team.
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Indonesia
Two first-half goals and a second-half penalty saved by Indonesia's Maarten Paes saw Saudi Arabia and Indonesia's match finish all-square in Jeddah. The visitors took the lead just 19 minutes in when Ragnar Oratmangun found the net. They couldn't hold that lead going into the break, however, as Musab Al Juwayr's deflected effort bamboozled Paes in the Indonesia goal and nestled in the bottom-left corner. Paes would go on to be the hero, however, when he guessed correctly to expertly deny Salem Al-Dawsari from the penalty spot.
How qualifying works
Asia has been allocated eight direct spots at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and another potential berth via the FIFA Play-Off Tournament. In this, the third, round of qualifying the continent's remaining 18 nations were divided into three groups of six. The group winners and runners-up advance to the global finals, while the third-place and fourth-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.
- The origianl text resource is from FIFA Official Website |
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