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Iraq eliminates China from World Cup qualifying
2008-06-14
TIANJIN, China - China's chances of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup ended with a 2-1 loss to resurgent Asian champion Iraq, sparking celebratory gunfire in Baghdad and despair in Beijing. The Chinese, needing a win Saturday to have any chance of advancing to the fourth and final stage of Asian qualifying, took the lead via Zhou Haibing in the 34th minute but conceded goals to Emad Ridha and Nashat Akram to slump out of contention. "We feel very sad and regret that we missed the opportunity to qualify," Zheng Zhi said. "It's a chance that comes only every four years. We didn't play well. That's why we failed to win." Back-to-back wins over Australia and China have lifted Iraq to seven points after five of its six matches in Group One. Brett Emerton scored twice and ex-Liverpool winger Harry Kewell got a goal in Australia's 3-1 win over Qatar that moved it to 10 points and a guaranteed place in the next round. Iraq and Qatar, level in second place, play next week. Only the top two teams from each of the five groups advance. South Korea and North Korea each guaranteed spots in the next round with wins Saturday in Group Three, taking a little bit of heat out of their derby match in Seoul next week in the last of the third-round matches. North Korea beat Jordan 2-0 in Pyongyang and West Brom midfielder Kim Do-heon earned a hat-trick in South Korea's 3-1 win over Turkmenistan. In Group Two, Japan had a 3-0 win over Thailand in Bangkok - with goals from Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuji Nakazawa and Kengo Nakamura - and advanced after Bahrain later drew 1-1 against Oman. Bahrain leads the group with 11 points from five matches and qualified with Japan, which is in second place with 10 points. Oman with five points and Thailand with one point are out of the running for the final qualifying berths. Fouzi Aaaish's powerful left-foot shot beat Oman goalkeeper Ali Abdullah in the 41st minute before Oman equalized in the 72nd minute through Ismail Al Ajmi. Uzkbekistan topped Group Four, extending its streak to five with a 3-0 defeat of winless Lebanon at Tashkent and Saudi Arabia ensured it will advance from the group with goals from Abdoh Autef and Ahmed Al Fraidi in a 2-0 win at Singapore, moving to 12 points from five matches. Iran had a 2-0 away win over Syria to move into top place in Group Five and secure a place in the next round with nine points - four points clear of third-place Syria. United Arab Emirates had a 3-2 win over Kuwait to move into second place on eight points and needs only a draw against Syria next week to advance. Iraq has some concerns ahead of its last match against Qatar after captain Younis Mahmoud left the field in the 11th minute with an injury against China. In his absence, though, Emad Ridha got the equalizer with a header just before halftime, setting the stage for playmaker Akram's winner from 20 metres in the 66th minute. Iraqis danced in the streets or in the backs of pickups and fired guns in the air after fulltime. The sound of car horns mingled with the gunfire and mostly young men clapped as they leaned out of the windows in Baghdad. Mohammed Haider, a 36-year-old Oil Ministry employee, said the victory provided a welcome respite from fears of violence and concerns about power shortages and other troubles that persist despite recent security gains. "Soccer is the only thing that unites the Iraqi people. We needed this soccer victory to remind us that we are still one nation," he said. Hospital officials said at least 17 people were wounded in celebratory gunfire in Baghdad after many fans ignored official warnings against it. The mood was more muted in China, which failed yet again to add to its one appearance at the World Cup finals. In 2002, China reached the finals, but lost all three group games and failed to score a goal - an embarrassment for the world's most populous country. China's manager Vladimir Petrovic is expected to be out of a job after the latest loss. At Pyongyang, two goals from Hong Yong Jo gave North Korea 11 points from 5 games, meaning it can finish no lower than second place in the group. South Korea, with eight points from four matches, will also progress regardless of the outcome later Saturday against Turkmenistan or in next week's derby clash with North Korea in the last third-round match. Hong opened the scoring three minutes before the break at the Yanggakdo Stadium. Jordan was reduced to 10 men a minute after the restart as Omar Suleiman was sent off and Hong sealed the win in the 72nd minute. At Ashgabat, Kim opened the scoring with a strike after 14 minutes and restored his side's lead in the 85th minute - four minutes after Guvanch Ovekov had equalised with a penalty. He sealed it with a penalty in stoppage time after Kim Chi-woo surged into the box and was cut down by a defender.
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