ARAB NEWS
HONG KONG: Korea Republic qualified for a seventh consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games after easing to a 3-0 win over Oman on Wednesday night, with Japan and the United Arab Emirates in pole position to also secure a place at London 2012.
Nam Tae-hee, who will feature for Qatar champions Lekhwiya in the Group Stage of the AFC Champions League this season, set Korea Republic on their way after just 14 seconds at Al Seeb Sports Stadium in Muscat with a smart finish from inside the area.
And with Kim Hyun-sung and Baek Sung-dong extending the advantage in a four minute spell midway through the second half, unbeaten Korea secured an unassailable four point lead over second-placed Oman at the top of Group A with just one game remaining next month.
With third-placed Qatar sealing a 2-1 comeback win over Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Doha thanks to goals from Hasan Al Haydos and Naser Nabeel, Oman must beat already-eliminated Saudi Arabia in Dammam on March 14 to guarantee a play-off berth.
A failure to win at Prince Mohammed Bin Fahad Stadium would open the door for Qatar, who must pick up all three points in Seoul to secure a place in March’s three team play-off, which will determine who faces Senegal for a place in London later this year.
Elsewhere, Japan and the UAE moved to the top of their respective groups ahead of the final round of matches.
Japan, seeking a fifth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, pulled three points clear at the top of Group C after beating Malaysia 4-0 in Kuala Lumpur, while Bahrain snatched a 2-1 win at home to Syria.
Hiroki Sakai, Yuya Osako, Genki Haraguchi and Manabu Saito scored as Japan recorded a fourth win in five games, while Bahrain boosted their aspirations of a maiden appearance at the Olympic Games as Mohamed Tayeb Al Alaw struck his second of the night with one minute remaining at the National Stadium in Manama.
But with Japan needing just a point from next month’s visit of Bahrain to qualify for the Olympic Games, Syria are favorites to secure a place in the play-offs with already-eliminated Malaysia traveling to Jordan in four weeks’ time.
Finally, the UAE need just a point against Uzbekistan on the final Matchday to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time after Omar Al Amoudi’s strike midway through the first half secured a 1-0 win over Australia.
With Uzbekistan relinquishing the lead in Group B after losing 2-1 against Iraq on Tuesday, Vadim Abramov’s side must win at Jar Stadium in Tashkent to secure automatic qualification at the expense of the UAE.
Winless Australia and Iraq, who beat Uzbekistan in Doha thanks to Mustafa Abdulameer’s 88th minute winner, have only pride to play for in Gosford next month with Uzbekistan four points clear of second-placed Iraq.
Meanwhile, South Korea will seek punishment against Oman for their failure to control supporters in Wednesday’s qualifier between the two teams in Muscat, local media reported on Thursday.
South Korea’s under-23s won but the game was marred by crowd trouble as fans hurled water bottles and other objects onto the pitch.
Tempers boiled over after South Korea’s third goal midway through the second half, midfielder Han Kook-young collapsing to the ground after a firecracker nearly hit him in the face.
“This is a clear-cut case and we expect some sort of penalty,” the Korea Football Association (KFA) told Yonhap news agency.
“If that doesn’t happen, we will ask the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to punish Oman.”
South Korea qualified for their seventh successive Olympics with the win.
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