JEDDAH: Saudi Arab­ia’s struggles in Asia’s World Cup preliminaries continued as they dropped yet more points at home, this time in a goalless draw with Bahrain in Jeddah on Tuesday.

Captain Salem Al-Daw­sari saw his 20th-minute penalty saved by Ebrahim Lutfalla in Jeddah as the Saudis failed to break down their visitors and Roberto Mancini’s side have only won once in their four games in the current phase of qualifying.

The Saudis are third in Group ‘C’, leavel with second-placed Australia on five points, but five behind leaders Japan.

In Group ‘A’, Iran moved top with a come-from-behind 4-1 victory against Qatar in Dubai. The match was originally scheduled for the city of Mashhad, but was last week moved to the UAE because of escalating tensions in the region.

Almoez Ali put the Asian Cup holders in front with a first-time strike in the 17th minute but Sardar Azmoun scored either side of the interval to put Iran ahead.

Mohammed Mohebi added the third in the 65th minute and put the seal on the win deep into injury time as Iran maintained their unbeaten record in the group.

The six-time World Cup participants sit at the summit with 10 points from a possible 12. They move ahead of Uzbekistan on goal difference after Srecko Katanec’s side saw off 10-man UAE 1-0 in Tashkent.

Otabek Shukurov’s 76th-minute penalty sealed Uzbekistan a third win from four matches as they bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history. The UAE and Qatar stay third and fourth, respectively, six points off the top two.

In the group’s other match, Kyrgyzstan defeated North Korea 1-0 with Khristiyan Brauzman scoring the only goal in Bishkek to register their first win of the campaign.

Elsewhere, Jordan swept aside Oman 4-0 as Yazan Al Naimat and Ali Olwan each scored twice in Amman to leapfrog Iraq into second, with the two teams level on seven points, three behind South Korea in Group ‘B’.

Bottom team Palestine netted a 93rd-minute equa­liser to hold Kuwait to 2-2 a draw in Qatar.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2024