DUBAI — Saudi Arabia beat Iraq 2-1 to be among the first three sides to navigate their way through Asian Cup qualifying Friday.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also advanced with home wins. While the UAE beat Hong Kong 4-0, Bahrain downed Malaysia 1-0.
Saudi Arabia needed just a draw against 2007 winner Iraq to join host Australia, Japan and North and South Korea among the countries which have already qualified.
Tayseer Al-Jasem put the Kingdom ahead with a goal in the 18th minute. Younis Mahmoud Khalaf, however, equalized for Iraq just before the break.
Nasser Al-Shamrani put Saudi Arabia back in front with a strike in the 60th minute and it stayed that way till the final whistle.
In Group C, three-time winner Saudi Arabia had won all three of its matches to sit atop the group.
Elsewhere, highly-rated midfielder Wu Lei grabbed a priceless winner as China beat Indonesia 1-0 to breathe life into its qualifying campaign.
Wu, 21, tagged “China’s Maradona” after his emergence as a teenwonder, was on target just before half-time at Xian’s Shanxi Stadium to maintain China’s second spot in Group C.
China’s campaign was listing after last month’s disappointing away draw with bottom side Indonesia, making victory imperative ahead of Tuesday’s game against table-topper Saudi Arabia.
The Chinese national team, under caretaker coach Fu Bo since the sacking of Jose Antonio Camacho, was also under pressure to live up to Guangzhou Evergrande’s AFC Champions League victory last week.
China is now guaranteed to stay among the group’s two automatic qualifying spots.
China, host and runner-up in 2004, has a spotless record of reaching 11 successive Asian Cup tournaments ahead of the next edition in Australia in early 2015. Elsewhere, Syria bounced back from last month’s shock loss to Singapore with a big 4-0 win in the return leg to climb off the foot of Group A.
Iran, three-time winner of Asian football’s biggest prize, beat Thailand 3-0 at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium to strengthen its grip on Group B.
And in Group E, Uzbekistan beat Vietnam 3-0 in Hanoi as it looks to solidify second spot behind leader the UAE.
The match between Kuwait and Lebanon ended in a goalless draw.
Meanwhile, in the earlier played Group D match, Qatar beat Yemen 4-1 at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium.
Nigeria wary of Ethiopia
Nigeria is poised to qualify for the World Cup Finals this weekend, taking a lead into its home tie with Ethiopia, while Cameroon and the Ivory Coast look to finish off Tunisia and Senegal.
The African champion beat Ethiopia 2-1 in the first leg qualifier in Addis Ababa last month, giving it the edge for Saturday’s return leg in the southern coastal city of Calabar.
Nigeria has a solid record against Ethiopia, having won five times in eight encounters and Liverpool forward Victor Moses was confident of victory.
Nigeria is without Real Betis midfielder Nosa Igiebor and Uche Nwofor, from Dutch club Heerenveen, through injury.
But Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo, Gabriel Reuben, from Scottish club Kilmarnock, and US-based striker Bright Dike are now available after long-term injuries.
Also Saturday, Ivory Coast takes on Senegal on neutral territory in Casablanca, Morocco, after rioting marred an Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifier between the two sides last year. — Agencies