North Korea were the underdogs as they headed to Abu Dhabi to take on United Arab Emirates. Keeping with what we become a theme of the day, the eastern Asians were the team that stepped up to the challenge. The teams held at zero goals for the first five-sixths of the game, but in the final fifteen minutes and change, that story changed. First, the Emiratis had the misfortune of blocking a cross into their own net. Then, the North Koreans scored seven minutes later, only to see the Emiratis regain traction with a goal of their own five minutes after that. The score did not change after that, however, and the 2-1 home less is a monstruous blow to the hopes of the United Arab Emirates' qualification campaign. North Korea take three points into their upcoming meeting with South Korea."It will be a tough match, but if we come out of this one with a win, we know we can go all the way." -Takeshi Okada, coach of Japan, regarding the upcoming match in Bahrain
Japan visited Bahrain. The two would be playing for the third time this qualification cycle, and the sides had previously split two 1-0 decisions. Japan dominated throughout in this affair, despite the final score reading 3-2 in their favor. Japan took a 1-0 lead on a free kick, and they later converted on a penalty drawn when the Bahrainis committed a handball in the box. A third tally five minutes from time ended Bahrain's hopes for a tie, but they scored once three minutes from time. The Japanese goalkeeper let in the second after misreading a pass back from his defender, but Japan still earn the full three points.
Uzbekistan came to Doha with wins in every meaningful qualifier that they had played so far. Qatar barely advanced out of Round Three with a thrilling final-day victory over Iraq. The Uzbeks had it handed to them in this one. Qatar scored once in the first half, twice in the second half, and played a great defensive match against the usually high-scorin Uzbeks. The Qataris, who play three out of their first four at home in Round Four, gathered three very useful points and hope to continue their luck against Bahrain.
"Everything clicked as we had planned. The goals came at the right time and the substitutions were made at the right time," he said. "I'm happy with the result." -Jorge Fossati, coach of Qatar
Iran went in after a rather lackluster showing in the previous phase in spite of their winning their group. Saudi Arabia were all too pleased to take advantage of a supposedly weaker Iran than in the past, and they scored first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. Iran kept plugging along, and their efforts were rewarded with a goal less than ten minutes from the end of regulation. The 1-1 draw is a great starting point for Iran, but the Saudis will not be pleased with the result.
Goal scorers:
North Korea: Saeed 74 OG (United Arab Emirates); An C-H 81
United Arab Emirates: Saeed 86
Japan: S. Nakamura 18; Endo 44 PK; K. Nakamura 85
Bahrain: Isa 87; Tanaka 88 OG (Japan)
Qatar: Siddiq 37; M. Hassan 73; Albloushi 86
Saudi Arabia: Al Harthi 29
Iran: Nekounam 82
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