SHARJAH, UAE — China are on the
brink of suffering more
World Cup heartache despite clinching an impressive 1-1
draw with Australia on Tuesday in qualifying for next year's football showpiece
in Qatar.
اضافة اعلان
A 38th-minute strike by
Mitchell Duke appeared to have condemned the global
Olympic and economic powerhouse to their
fourth defeat in six matches in Group B, but a Wu Lei penalty late on helped
them gain a morale-boosting point at the Sharjah Stadium in the UAE.
But the Chinese are above only Vietnam with
just five points and now face the near-impossible task of clawing their way
back in a group that also includes Asian football giants Saudi Arabia and
Japan.
Only the top two countries from each of the
two groups will book an automatic ticket for the 2022 World Cup, with the
possibility of a fifth securing a spot through a play-off involving the
third-placed teams.
China have qualified for the finals of the
World Cup only once, in 2002, where they bowed out in the group stage after
losing all their three matches.
But since then they have struggled at the
global stage despite their oft-stated footballing ambitions, having spent
billions of dollars to develop their domestic structure and luring an array of
international stars to play in their leagues.
For Australia, it was their third straight
draw on Tuesday and with Japan beating Oman in a late match, they are now third
in the standings with plenty at stake in the remaining fixtures.
Earlier,
Saudi Arabia edged out plucky
Vietnam 1-0 in Hanoi for their fifth win in six matches to go four points clear
of Japan and put one foot in the finals.
Saleh al-Shehri scored the only goal of the
match with a 31st-minute header, with the ball just crossing the line despite
Vietnamese goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong's efforts to stop it.
Al-Shehri was also guilty of missing a
golden opportunity as early as the fourth minute when he headed wide from close
range at the My Dinh National Stadium.
The result means Herve Renard's men stay
well on course to qualify for the World Cup for the sixth time, with the
possibility of making it as the group winners.
Japan also gave their hopes a shot in the
arm with a narrow 1-0 win over Oman that put them above Australia into second
place with 12 points.
South Korea see off Iraq.
Meanwhile, South Korea eased past Iraq 3-0
and the UAE edged Lebanon 1-0 in Group A where leaders Iran took firm control
with a 3-0 drubbing of Syria.
Lee Jae-sung put the Koreans ahead in Doha
in the 33rd minute before Tottenham star Son Heung-min and Jeong Woo-yeong put
the outcome beyond doubt.
Sardar Azmoun, Ehsan Hajsafi and Ali
Gholizadeh scored for Iran who now have 16 points from six games.
South Korea are second on 14 with the UAE
occupying third spot on six with their only win in the final phase of
qualifying so far.
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