Uzbekistan, Jordan earn first World Cup berths as South Korea also qualify
HONG KONG - Uzbekistan and Jordan progressed to the World Cup finals for the first time on Thursday as regular qualifiers South Korea also booked their place in North America next year with a 2-0 win over Iraq in Basra.
Uzbekistan claimed their spot at the expanded 48-team finals with a 0-0 draw against the United Arab Emirates, which guaranteed Timur Kapadze's side a top two finish in Group A of the preliminaries alongside already-qualified Iran.
Kim Jin-gyu and Oh Hyeon-gyu were on target in the second half for the Koreans against 10-man Iraq and that win not only secured qualification for Hong Myung-bo's side from Group B but confirmed Jordan would also progress.
The west Asians had beaten Oman 3-0 earlier in the evening through a hat-trick from Ali Olwan, but Jamal Sellami's side had to wait for the outcome of Iraq's meeting with the Koreans before being able to celebrate their World Cup berth.
Australia also stand on the cusp of a place at the finals after Aziz Behich scored the only goal in his side's 1-0 win over Japan in Perth in Group C.
Victory keeps Tony Popovic's side three points clear of Saudi Arabia, who won 2-0 against Bahrain in Riffa, with one game to play.
Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a win that put Australia's celebrations on hold until the two nations meet in Jeddah on Tuesday.
But Australia's vastly superior goal difference means they can lose that meeting with the Saudis by up to four goals and still advance to a sixth consecutive World Cup finals as second-placed finishers behind the Japanese.
Uzbekistan goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov made a string of second-half saves in Abu Dhabi to frustrate the UAE and earn his nation their first World Cup qualification since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The draw means the UAE will now progress to the fourth round of qualifying as the point earned guarantees a third- or fourth-placed finish in Group A.
They will be joined in the next phase by 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, who managed a 1-0 win over 10-man Iran through Pedro Correia's 41st-minute close-range goal.
Indonesia guaranteed their involvement would also continue into the fourth round with a 1-0 win over China that ended the qualification hopes of Branko Ivankovic's side.
Ole Romeny's 45th-minute penalty separated the sides in Jakarta to ensure Indonesia would finish in either third or fourth place in Group C, thereby progressing to the next phase.
Goals from Tamer Seyam and Wessam Abou Ali kept Palestine's chances of going through to the next round intact, with a 2-0 win over hosts Kuwait moving Ihab Abujazar's side to within one point of Oman in fourth place in Group B.
The first two finishers in each of the three qualifying groups progress automatically to the World Cup while the teams in third and fourth advance to October's fourth round to battle for another two berths at the finals.
Kyrgyzstan will not be among those competing for the remaining slots after their 2-2 draw with North Korea in Riyadh ended their chances of going through to the fourth round. REUTERS
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