“The players believe it's possible, so we'll try to fulfill this dream.” New Caledonia coach Didier Chambaron speaking about his team’s prospects of winning the OFC Nations Cup and advancing to the World Cup via the Oceania/Asia playoff.New Caledonia were in second place with four points in the Oceania Nations Cup, five points behind New Zealand. New Caledonia started the day with one more game remaining than the Kiwis had, but they did not leave Port Vila happy. In the first of a road-and-home series with fourth-place Vanuatu, New Caledonia were unable to get anything going in the first half. Then, with fifteen minutes to play, the visitors struck. Nevertheless, the home side of Vanuatu responded just two minutes later and secured a 1-1 tie. Vanuatu picked up just their first point in the second stage of qualifying and are essentially out of contention with three games left to play. New Caledonia now trail New Zealand by four points with two matches remaining against the Kiwis.
Jordan were on the brink of World Cup elimination when they visited North Korea for Matchday 5. Jordan were over the brink by the time their visit was complete. North Korea found its first score just before the halftime whistle, and a second goal with under twenty minutes remaining did the Jordanians no favors. North Korea used the 2-0 victory to advance to Round Four of Asian qualifying. The win also guaranteed that their rivals South Korea would be advancing as well.
"The heat feels different to us now. It's been hot the entire trip and in the beginning everyone was making a big deal out of it, but now everyone just kind of deals with it." –Shunsuke Nakamura, Japan
Japan was feeling the heat as they still had not qualifying for Asian fourth round when they paid fourth-place Thailand a visit. The game featured physical play, with the hosts picking up four of the six cautions handed out. The hosts were not, however, the winners in the scoring column. Japan picked up a 2-0 lead in the first half and extended it to 3-0 just before full time was called. Japan do advance to Round Four with the win and Thailand are officially eliminated.
"Our players did well in the heat of Bangkok and particularly the two defensive midfielders impressed with good movement throughout the game, even though Daisuke Matsui pulled a muscle in his leg. That's something we have been missing and the team needed." -Japan coach Takeshi Okada
Iraq looked dead in the water after losing in Australia, but their subsequent victory in the return match kept their fading chances alive. A win in China was necessary to stay alive, though, and things did not start off well for the Iraqis. China put home a rare goal after the half hour and looked ready to take the lead into the half until Iraq knocked in the equalizer. Midway through the second half, Iraq struck yet again and held on for an enormous 2-1 victory that knocked underperforming China out of the World Cup. The absences of Sun Jihai and Li Weifeng may have played a part in China’s demise, but excuses do not win soccer matches.
South Korea staked out a 1-0 lead in the first half, and they held on nicely to their edge until they conceded a penalty. Hosts Turkmenistan were giving their all despite having no chance to advance to Round Four, and after converting the penalty seemed to have stolen South Korea’s thunder. The game featured seven yellows, including four for South Korea, but neither the physical play nor the equalizer would deny the Koreans. They responded with two goals, including on in stoppage time, to take the victory 3-1.
Lebanon wanted to take out their frustrations on Uzbekistan when they arrived in Tashkent for their fifth match in Round Three. Four yellows can attest to that. Lebanon held Uzbekistan scoreless for one half, at least, but three goals in the second meant that Uzbekistan improved to 7-0-0 on their World Cup campaign with a meaningless game against Saudi Arabia to finish their third round.
Saudi Arabia had to deal not only with a dangerous Singaporean side but also the rain in Singapore. The sloppy conditions may have contributed to the dangerous play, with the Saudis picking up three of the five yellow cards. The Saudis scored once in each half while holding their opponents scoreless to advance to Asia’s Round Four on a 2-0 road win.
Goal scorers:
New Caledonia: Djamali 75
Vanuatu: Mermer 77
North Korea: Hong Y-J 44, 72
Japan: Tulio 23; Nakazawa 39; K. Nakamura 89
Iraq: Emad Mohammed 41; Hashat Akram 66
China: Zhou H. 33
South Korea: Kim D. H. 14, 81, 90+3
Turkmenistan: Ovekov 77 PK
Uzbekistan: Ahmedov 50, 63; Djeparov 90+4
Saudi Arabia: Autef 37; Al Fraidi 76
No comments:
Post a Comment