Seoul, Nov 12: Japan closed in on both Saudi Arabia and Australia in Asian World Cup qualifying, beating Vietnam 1-0 while the two leading teams in Group B played out a 0-0 draw.
The Saudis lead the group with 13 points, followed by Australia with 10 and Japan with nine. Only the top two finishers in each of the two six-team groups will automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Junya Ito scored an early goal from close range for Japan, a team that has appeared at every World Cup since 1998 but is in danger of missing out this time. Australia has only one point from its last two matches.
The result was better for Saudi Arabia, which earned its first point on Australian soil. The Saudis play Vietnam on Tuesday, while Australia will face China in the United Arab Emirates and Japan visits Oman.
Oman is fourth with seven points after a 1-1 draw with China. Wu Lei put China ahead after 21 minutes but Amjad Al-Harthi headed in the equalizer with 15 minutes remaining to keep China in fifth place with four points.
In Group A, South Korea stayed on course for a 10th straight World Cup appearance by beating the UAE 1-0. Hwang Hee-chan, who plays in England for Wolverhampton Wanderers, converted from the penalty spot.
South Korea stayed second in the group behind Iran, which scored twice in injury time to beat Lebanon 2-1. Sardar Azmoun equalized for Iran in injury time and Ahmad Nourollahi scored another with the last kick of the match.
Iraq and Syria drew 1-1 to stay fourth and sixth, respectively. Iran has 13 points in Group A and South Korea has 11. (AP)
