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Japan and Qatar clinched crucial World Cup wins in the crushing humidity of the Gulf today to hammer home a double warning to Australia of the dangers ahead on the road to the World Cup finals.
Japan beat Bahrain 3-2 in Manama while Qatar eased past Uzbekistan 3-0 in Doha to get Group One of the final round of Asian qualifiers off to a flying start.
Australia, who make up Group One, travel to Tashkent on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) to face Uzbekistan buoyed by an impressive 2-1 friendly win over the Netherlands in Eindhoven today.
North Korea, meanwhile, defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in Abu Dhabi to gain an early advantage in Group Two where regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran fought out a 1-1 stalemate in Riyadh.
Shunsuke Nakamura, Yasuhito Endo and Kengo Nakamura gave Japan a 3-0 lead before Salman Isa and a Marcus Tanaka own-goal gave Japanese coach Takeshi Okada a nervous wait for the fulltime whistle in Manama.
“We were in control right through,” said Okada.
“We panicked during the last 10 minutes when we gave away two goals. But this could be the best way to win the game for us as, more than the goal difference, we were able to learn something.”
In Doha, Qatar, who have never reached the World Cup finals, stunned Uzbekistan with a scintillating display which delighted coach Jorge Fossati.
Mejdi Seddiq fired the Qataris ahead in the 37th minute before Uruguayan-born Sebastien Quintana set up Majed Mohammed for the second goal. Qatar put the issue beyond doubt with a third from Talal al-Bloushi.
“I’ve said before we want to win all our matches and today’s fantastic victory will give us the confidence for the future,” said Fossati.
Only the top two teams in each of the two groups are guaranteed places in South Africa.
The two third-placed nations will play-off with the winner then taking on New Zealand, the Oceania zone victors, for a spot in the finals.
Also on Wednesday, Qatar are at home to Bahrain, North and South Korea clash in Shanghai and the UAE welcome Saudi Arabia
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