Australia beat China to tighten hold on WC qualifying
Hangzhou, China: Australia took another stride towards qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with Tony Popovic's side handing China a 2-0 defeat in Hangzhou as Group C rivals Saudi Arabia were held to a 0-0 draw by already-qualified Japan at Saitama Stadium.
South Korea's struggles on home soil continued, meanwhile, as Hong Myung-bo's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Jordan in Suwon in Group B.
The top two finishers in each of Asia's three preliminary groups advance directly to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico with the teams in third and fourth progressing to another round of qualifiers.
Australia made it six points out of six in the current window with victory over China as first-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Nishan Velupillay earned another Socceroos success following Thursday's 5-1 win against Indonesia.
Irvine put his side in front after 16 minutes when he stepped inside onto his left foot to fire into the bottom corner beyond Wang Dalei.
The Shandong Taishan goalkeeper was to blame for the visitors' second 13 minutes later, fumbling Velupillay's bobbling shot from the edge of the penalty area over his own line.
The win moves Australia to 13 points from eight matches, consolidating their hold on second place in the group behind Japan and taking them three points ahead of third-placed Saudi Arabia.
"We came with a top mentality into this camp and we knew what was at stake, two massive games for us," said Irvine. "It's been a massive team effort to get these two results."
Hajime Moriyasu's Japan side dropped points for only the second time in the preliminaries as the Samurai Blue were unable to find a way through a disciplined Saudi Arabia defence.
Daizen Maeda went closest when he hit the post in the ninth minute after Daichi Kamada's perfectly-weighted through ball released the Celtic man behind the visitors' backline.
There was more frustration for the Koreans, who drew at home for the third time in the current phase of qualifying but continue to lead Group B.
Lee Jae-sung put the hosts in front after five minutes when he rushed into the six-yard box to push Son Heung-min's corner over the line but Jordan were level by the half-hour mark.
Mousa al Tamari saw his initial shot saved by Jo Hyeon-woo but the rebound looped up towards Mahmoud Al-Mardi and his strike was deflected past the keeper off the back of Korean defender Kwon Kyung-won.
The result moves South Korea to 16 points, three ahead of Jordan with third-placed Iraq a further point behind ahead of their meeting with Palestine later on Tuesday. Kuwait will face Oman in the same group.
Iran could secure their place at the World Cup with Amir Ghalenoei's side needing a draw against Uzbekistan when the teams meet in Tehran later on Tuesday in Group A as North Korea play the United Arab Emirates and Kyrgyzstan host Qatar. — Reuters
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