Iraq beat Taiwan to close gap on Thais
KUALA LUMPUR: Iraq won 2-0 at Taiwan in a World Cup qualifier yesterday to keep alive their hopes of overtaking Group F leaders Thailand.
Thailand lead the group on 13 points with one game left — against secondplaced Iraq in March in Tehran.
Iraq, who have two games remaining, cut Thailand’s advantage to five points.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up advance to Asia’s final qualifying round for Russia 2018.
In Dhaka, veteran forward Tim Cahill scored his second international hat-trick as Australia set aside security worries to thrash Bangladesh 4-0.
Cahill completed his hat-trick inside 37 minutes after the start and captain Mile Jedinak scored the other as the visitors sealed the victory in the first half in front of a boisterous near-packed crowd at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The build-up of the match was overshadowed by security concerns after Western nations alerted their citizens about a terrorist strike in the Muslim majority nation, prompting the Australian cricket team to postpone a two-match Test series in October.
Tensions also rose after a spate of killings of foreigners, policemen and a blast at a Shiite shrine that left two people dead — attacks claimed by Islamic state group. The government said the group does not have any presence in Bangladesh.
Australian football officials also flagged their concerns to world football governing body Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation. The match was given the go-ahead after Bangladesh assured the visitors of “unprecedented” security.
Ahead of the match, all the shops and markets at and around the stadium were shut down, traffic was halted in key roads and each of about 20,000 spectators were body-searched before they were allowed to enter the stadium.
The victory was much needed for Australia who started the match one behind group leader Jordan. Forfeiting the match due to security concerns would have cost the Socceroos three crucial points.
In Guam, Iran, missing four players and two staff because of visa issues, brushed aside the challenge of US territory Guam 6-0.
Mehdi Taremi (two), Kamaleddin Kamyabinia, Ramin Rezaeian, Masoud Shojaei and Karim Ansari Fard all scored goals on the artificial grass at the National Football Stadium in the tiny Pacific Ocean island.
The win lifted unbeaten Iran to 14 points, three clear at the top of the Group D standings, with their remaining two fixtures at home to India and Oman in March.
In Hong Kong, Hong Kong fans booed the anthem they share with China while some turned their backs and held up “boo” signs in a show of defiance before a crunch World Cup football qualifier with their mainland rivals.
Home supporters also swore at the visiting Chinese supporters and showed them their middle fingers in a rowdy start to proceedings at the sold-out, 6,000-seat Mong Kok Stadium.
Loud jeers rang out during the “March of the Volunteers” anthem, which the semiautonomous territory shares with China, and held up white signs saying “boo” in English — following warnings against audible jeering.
The match followed last year’s “Umbrella movement” pro-democracy protests which gripped the city and underlined discontent over Beijing’s rule.
The fans have been strictly segregated, using separate entrances and even different toilets, in a bid to head off any potential trouble in a district which was one of the centres of the pro-democracy protests.
Yesterday’s match ended in a scoreless draw as both teams can still advance to the next round.
Elsewhere, North Korea defeated Bahrain 2-0 and Saudi Arabia thrashed Timor Leste 10-0.