HONG KONG: Son Heung-min scored a stunning goal as South Korea got off the mark after defeating Oman in Asian World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Japan won their second successive Group ‘C’ match by defeating Bahrain 5-0 in Riffa, meaning the continent’s best-ranked side have scored 12 unanswered goals across two matches.

South Korea’s English Premier League strike force of Hwang Hee-chan and Son both scored as they beat Oman 3-1 in Muscat.

Wolverhampton’s Hwang opened the scoring after 19 minutes before Jung Seungh-hyun’s own goal equalised on the stroke of half-time.

Tottenham Hotspurs’ Son got South Korea’s second, turning outside the box and firing home an unsto­ppable left-foot finish on 82 minutes.

Joo Min-kyu put the result beyond doubt in the 11th minute of added time after being played in by Son.

It was South Korea’s first win in the final Asian qualifying phase after they were held goalless at home by Palestine last week.

Meanwhile, Japan look the team to beat in the group, with the No.18-ranked country in the FIFA standings following last week’s opening 7-0 victory against China with another emphatic win.

Hajime Moriyasu’s men took the lead at Bahrain International Stadium just after the half hour through Ayase Ueda’s powerful penalty, before the Feyenoord forward doubled the visitors’ advantage two minutes into the second half.

Another double, this time from Sporting CP’s Hidemasa Morita, put the game well out of the hosts’ reach, leaving Koki Ogawa to round off the scoring nine minutes from time.

The Palestinians could not repeat their heroic performance in Seoul, however, and were beaten 3-1 by Jordan in a match played in Kuala Lumpur because of the war in Gaza.Also in Group A, perennial World Cup qualifiers Iran made it back-to-back 1-0 wins to begin the third round after seeing off the UAE at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.

The visitors, sitting 20th in the FIFA standings, sealed the three points thanks to Mehdi Ghayedi’s finish deep into first-half stoppage time. Ghayedi plays his club football in the Emirates, for top-flight side Ittihad Kalba.

Following on from last week’s 1-0 triumph at home to Kyrgyzstan, the win lifts Iran second in the group, level on both points and goal difference with Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan beat Kyrgyzstan 3-2 in Bishkek.

In the matchday’s final Asian qua­lifiers fixture, Kuwait were held to a goalless draw in Group ‘B’ by 10-man Iraq at Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.

Iraq, the current Arabian Gulf Cup champions, found themselves a player down from the seventh minute, when Rebin Sulaka was eventually shown a straight red for tripping Kuwait captain Yousef Nasser as he was running through on goal.

The original decision was a yellow, but upon consulting VAR and watching back the incident, the referee upgraded the punishment.

However, Iraq held on for a draw, meaning they sit third in the group, level on four points with South Korea and Jordan above them. Kuwait are fourth.

The top two teams from each of the three six-team Asian groups will be guaranteed a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third qualifying round wraps up in June.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024