World Cup qualifier: Asian 'big three,' Netherlands book final berth
- Source: The Global Times
- [07:19 June 08 2009]
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Qatar's Mesaad al-Hamad (No. 8) vies with Australia's Tim Cahill during their World Cup 2010 Asian qualifying football match at al-Sadd stadium Saturday. Photo: AFP
Japan, Korea and Australia became the first teams to advance to the 2010 World Cup finals yesterday, leaving just one direct qualification place for Asian fellows.
Meanwhile, Netherland eased past Iceland 2-1 in a UEFA Group Nine game, giving Netherland the distinction of being the first European country to punch its ticket to South Africa.
Japan beat Uzbekistan 1-0 in AFC Group One and was the first team through for the second time in a row, having also set the pace for the 2006 finals in Germany.
Korea, a 2002 World Cup semifinalist, outclassed already-eliminated United Arab Emirates 2-0 in their Group Two affair and reached the tournament for the seventh-straight time.
Australia advanced via the Asian-region route for the first time after opting to ditch its Oceania regional status two years ago.
The Aussies were content to play out a goalless draw with Qatar in Doha to maintain their unbeaten run and share the lead with Japan with 14 points, trailed by Bahrain (7), Qatar (5) and Uzbekistan (4).
The top two in each of the two groups qualify directly for South Africa, with the two third-place teams meeting to decide who goes through to a playoff to take on Oceania champion New Zealand.
In a European qualifier, two early goals put the Netherlands on track for a 2-1 win against Iceland and secured their qualification for next year’s World Cup finals.
They secured the top position in Group Nine with 18 points after six matches, 11 more than Scotland, and are the first European country to book their finals place.
Defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong headed home the opening goal after eight minutes following a fine cross from Real Madrid playmaker Rafael van der Vaart.
FC Bayern captain Mark van Bommel doubled the lead seven minutes later with a well-placed shot from just outside the penalty area.
For all European countries, all group winners directly qualify for the finals, while the best eight runners-up from the nine groups go through to a playoff to decide the rest of the four tickets.
Mexico slumped to their fourth-straight away defeat in World Cup qualifiers with a 2-1 reverse against El Salvador yesterday, while the United States recovered to get their campaign back by beating Honduras 2-1 after losing their last game to first-place Costa Rica.
Mexico dropped to fifth in the six-team group after a late penalty left them on three points from four games, ruining coach Javier Aguirre’s second attempt with the side.
The top three teams qualify directly for South Africa and the fourth plays off against the fifth South American team for an additional berth.
Agencies