China and Qatar lose again in World Cup qualifying

China and Qatar edged closer to elimination from World Cup qualifying yesterday, both losing to leave them in the bottom two places of their six-team group.

China, which played at the 2002 World Cup, lost to Syria 1-0 and has only one point from three matches in Group A.

Qatar, the host of the 2022 tournament, is last in that group with three losses. Yesterday, the Qataris led 2-1 at halftime but ended up losing to South Korea 3-2 after Tottenham forward Son Heung-min scored a 58th-minute winner.

Japan’s injury-time goal in a 2-1 victory over Iraq improved its chance of qualifying.

The top two teams in Groups A and B will qualify automatically for the World Cup in Russia, with the two third-place teams playing off for a spot in an intercontinental qualifier.