Qatar caused the first real upset of the Asian qualifying zone when they stunned highly fancied Uzbekistan 3-0.Goals from the trio of Majdi Siddiq, Magid Mohamed and Talal Al Bloushi saw Jorge Fossati's outfit gatecrash the party as they went riot against the Uzebeks who were led by captain and Dynamo Kiev striker Maksim Shatskikh.
The highly anticipated clash between Japan and Bahrain lived up to its blockbuster billing as the Nippon side endured late rally from 10 man Bahrain to claim an exciting 3-2 triumph.
First-half goals by Shunsuke Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo appeared to leave Japan in pole position and the visitors seemed to have wrapped up the encounter when Kengo Nakamura scored in the 84th minute.
But the visitors had to hold their nerve after a Salman Isa strike and Marcus Tulio Tanaka's own goal saw Bahrain nearly claim a point who also had Mohamed Hussain sent off for two bookable offences.
North Korea also provided some late drama as substitute An Chol-hyok played the role of hero after his 80th minute set the path for his country's 2-1 win over a shell-shocked UAE outfit.
A 65th-minute own goal from Basheer Saeed gave North Korea the edge in the Group Two encounter before An doubled up 10 minutes from the end.
Saeed then redeemed himself when his deflected shot gave UAE a foothold but it was too little too late for Bruno Metsu's charges.
Iran boss Daei had Osasuna striker Javad Nekounam to thank for as the latter's header nine minutes from the end allowed Team Melli to sneak a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia.
Saad Al Harthi gave Saudi Arabia a 29th-minute lead but Nekounam's late leveller ensured that the spoils were shared at King Fahad International Stadium.
Sunday 7th September 2008
by espnstar.com
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