Syria hold Iran to 1-1 draw in AFC Asian Cup 2007
The Syrians, who are getting used to life without Serb coach Miloslav Radenovic who quit recently over a pay dispute, had Zyad Chaabo’s last-minute strike to thank for the one point after Javad Nekunam had put Iran ahead with his 72nd minute goal.
Ghalenoiee had to make do without the injured Ali Karimi and Vahid Hashemian, and also regular custodian Ebrahim Mirzapur for the game though Mehdi Mahdavikia and Nekunam linked up to beef up the national squad.
Iran handed out a 4-0 thrashing to Chinese Taipei in the only match they played before this and Ghalenoiee’s men will be keen to make up for today’s disappointing performance on September 2 when they take on current group leaders Korea Republic.
In other matches
Australia booked their place in next year's Asian Cup finals with a 2-0 win over Kuwait Wednesday while defending champions Japan and rival South Korea both took a step closer.
The Aussies, the highest ranked Asian side in the world at 33 after their run into the second round at the World Cup in Germany, left it late with two goals in the last 14 minutes.
With a team drawn entirely from their domestic A-League, Australia took time to gel but came good with strikes from debutant Travis Dodd in the 76th minute and substitute forward Sasho Petrovski three minutes from time.
The unbeaten Socceroos top their group with six points ahead of Kuwait on one point. The top two teams from each of the six qualifying groups advance.
With Lebanon's withdrawal due to the conflict in the Middle East, Australia secured a spot in July's finals with their second win in as many games following a 3-1 victory over Bahrain in Manama last February.
They join co-costs Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam as the only teams safely into the business end of Asia's biggest football competition.
South Korea are likely to join them after a 3-0 away win against Taiwan put Pim Verbeek's side top of their group with two wins out of two.
World Cup stars Ahn Jung-Hwan and Lee Chun-Soo led Korea's attacking line but they were without English Premier League-based trio Park Ji-Sung, Lee Young-Pyo and Seol Ki-Hyun.
Ahn opened the scoring in the 31st minute with Jung Jo-Gook and Kim Do-Heon adding two more in the second period.
Asian powerhouse Japan inched past a feisty Yemen 2-0 in Niigata to put them equal on six points at the top of Group A with three-time Asian Cup winners Saudi Arabia, who beat India 3-0 in Kolkata.
It was Japan's first competitive win under new coach Ivica Osim.
Midfielder Yuki Abe broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, heading in a corner from Alessandro Santos, and striker Hisato Sato put it beyond doubt a minute into injury time.
The Saudis secured three points courtesy of a Yasser Al Qahtani hat-trick, which leaves India rooted to the bottom of the group and with no chance of qualifying.
The Saudis will be pleased with the result as they are re-grouping after two of their biggest stars -- striker Sami Al Jaber and goalkeeper Mohammad Al Deayea -- retired after the World Cup.
Al Ahli defender Hussain Sulaimani took the captain's armband on Wednesday.
Injury-depleted Oman drubbed Pakistan 4-1 in the AFC Asian Cup 2007 Group C Match Day 3 qualifier here at the Jinnah Stadium.
Bader Al Maimani (15 pen, 35), Imad Al Hosni (27) and Ismail Al Ajmi (90) entered the scoresheet for Milan Macala’s side even as Pakistan pulled one back through talismanic skipper Muhammad Essa in the 79th minute.
The win swelled Oman’s points tally to six, giving them leadership of the group on goal difference ahead of UAE who are to clash with Jordan later tonight.
Oman started their qualification campaign positively with a 3-0 win against Jordan before stumbling to a 1-0 defeat to UAE. This was Pakistan’s third consecutive defeat after UAE (4-1) and Jordan (3-0) and Salman Sharida’s team is now at the basement of the standings.
A second-half double from Sham Kwok Keung helped Hong Kong rally from a two-goal deficit and hold Uzbekistan to a 2-2 draw in Group F of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 qualifiers here at the Pakhtakor Stadium on Wednesday.
A win would have cemented Uzbekistan’s position in the group behind leaders Qatar, with another victory in the return leg against Hong Kong on September 6 virtually sealing their place in the Finals. And it looked like Valerie Nepomniatchi’s men were well on course for the three points on offer when Anvarjon Soliev’s 17th minute opener was added to by Maksim Shatskikh on 35 minutes.
But the Uzbeks paid a heavy price for their complacent attitude against their dangerous rivals in the second half which saw Sham pulling one back seven minutes past the hour mark before leveling the score three minutes from full time.
The draw means Uzbekistan have failed to put behind them the disappointing defeat to Qatar on Match Day 2 when they lost 2-1 in Doha after thrashing Bangladesh 5-0 on the opening day.
Qatar lead the group after three matches with nine points, followed by Uzbekistan and Hong Kong on four points each though the Central Asians are second on goals scored. Bangladesh are firmly rooted to the bottom after three consecutive defeats.