Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are looking the most likely contenders to play New Zealand in the home and away playoff for a spot at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ after Iran, Uzbekistan and Qatar all dropped points today in the Asia Football Confederation qualifying tournament.
On Match Day 8 for the Asian Zone, Qatar drew with Austalia 0-0 in Group A leaving the Soceroos ecstatic having qualified for successive FIFA World Cups™ for the first time, while Qatar are now struggling in fourth place behind Bahrain.
Japan also secured their spot at the FIFA finals with a 1-0 victory over Uzbekistan in Group A.
Meanwhile in Group B, Korea Republic overpowered United Arab Emirates 2-0 to become the third Asian team to qualify.
In the only other match of the day, North Korea edged close to qualifying with a 0-0 draw in Pyongyang against Iran, who now sit fourth in Group B behind Saudi Arabia.
The top four Asian teams automatically qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup™ while the third placed teams in each group will play each other in a home and away format to determine who will play the All Whites on October 10 and November 14 this year.
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ – Asian qualifiers
Match Day 8 Results
6 June, 2009
Group A: Qatar 0-0 Australia; Uzbekistan 0-1 Japan
Group B: Korea DPR 0-0 Iran; United Arab Emirates 0-2 Korea Republic
GROUP A Standings
|
PL |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
+/- |
PTS |
||
|
1. |
Australia |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
8 |
14 |
|
2. |
Japan |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
6 |
14 |
|
3. |
Bahrain |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
-1 |
7 |
|
4. |
Qatar |
7 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
13 |
-9 |
5 |
|
5. |
Uzbekistan |
7 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
9 |
-4 |
4 |
GROUP A Standings
|
PL |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
+/- |
PTS |
||
|
1. |
Korea Republic |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
3 |
8 |
14 |
|
2. |
Korea DPR |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia |
6 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
10 |
|
4. |
Iran |
6 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
7 |
|
5. |
United Arab Emirates |
7 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
16 |
-10 |
1 |