DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, Nov 11, (Agencies): Asian champions Japan reached the fourth round of World Cup qualifying on Friday after they thrashed Tajikistan 4-0 away and Uzbekistan overcame a defensive North Korea side 1-0.
Japan striker Shinji Okazaki scored twice with Yasuyuki Konno and Ryoichi Maeda also on target as Alberto Zaccheroni extended his unbeaten run as the country’s coach to 18 games with the easy victory on an awful pitch.
Japan lead Group C with 10 points from four matches in the third round of the Asia zone 2014 World Cup qualifying competition and will be one of 10 sides in the fourth round.
“The result was the most important thing today. We want to have already qualified for the final stage before we play our last game against Uzbekistan so the win was crucial,” Italian Zaccheroni told reporters before Uzbekistan’s match.

That objective was achieved when Timur Kapadze scored the only goal in the 49th minute in Tashkent to send the Uzbeks into the fourth round along with Japan and end North Korea’s hopes.
Uzbekistan also have 10 points after their third win from four matches with North Korea, who reached the finals in South Africa last year, third on three points with only two matches remaining.
Having trounced Tajikistan 8-0 in Osaka last month Japan were again expected to steamroller their opponents, ranked 130th by FIFA, but their neat passing game suffered in a difficult first period on the patchy pitch at Dushanbe Central Stadium.
Konno eased the nerves, however, when he converted a rebound in the 36th minute to score his first goal for Japan.
Okazaki headed the second just past the hour mark with substitute Maeda firing home from the edge of the area with eight minutes remaining.
VfB Stuttgart striker Okazaki then wrapped up the scoring in stoppage time with his 26th goal for the Blue Samurai.
Japan travel to Pyongyang to play North Korea on Tuesday, while Tajikistan, who cannot qualify for the next phase after their fourth defeat in the group, are away to Uzbekistan.

Lebanon 1, Kuwait 0
In Kuwait City, Lebanon beat Kuwait 1-0 on Friday to move into second place in Group B.
Mahmoud el Ali scored the winner after 57 minutes. Abbas Atwi collected the ball on the edge of the area from Ahmed Zreik before sliding a pass through to El Ali, who lifted the ball over the oncoming Nawaf al Khaldi.
Kuwait dominated the first half but were unable to make a breakthrough despite early injuries to Lebanon defenders Youssef Mohammad and Abbas Kanaan in the opening 10 minutes.
Abdulaziz Ashwan caused trouble down the left hand side, latching onto long balls in the first half but Lebanon held firm. El Ali and Roda Antar both went close after the break as Lebanon made frequent counterattacks in the closing stages before securing all three points.
The win moved Lebanon onto seven points from four games, three points behind group leader South Korea. Kuwait remain on five points, while United Arab Emirates are last with no points.

Oman 1, Australia 0
In Muscat, Oman, Oman caused an upset in 2014 World Cup qualifying by beating Australia 1-0 on Friday in a Group D game Asian qualifiers at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
Oman striker Imaad al Hosni scored the winner in the 17th minute against the run of the play. Ahmed Hadeed sent a defence-splitting pass to Imaad, who hammered his shot past Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
Oman, ranked 103rd, then managed to cope with the second-half pressure as the 20th-ranked Australians pressed for an equalizer.
Australia lead the group with nine points from four games, while Oman has four points. With two games left, Oman’s French coach Paul Le Guen said his team were on the right track.
“Though it is going to be a tough path, we are on the right way,” he said. “The team has displayed improvement and they proved it today. We need to recover fast and then be ready for the next game against Saudi Arabia on Nov 15.”

South Korea 2, UAE 0
In Dubai, UAE, World Cup regular South Korea was closer to booking a spot in Asia’s fourth and final round of qualifiers for Brazil 2014 with a hard-fought 2-0 win over United Arab Emirates.
Lee Keun-ho and captain Park Chu-young scored late second-half goals to keep the unbeaten Koreans on top of Group B after four matches.
South Korea beat UAE 2-1 at home a month ago, but didn’t expect as hard a match as it got on Friday.
The visitors didn’t break the deadlock until four minutes were left, when Lee sidefooted into an open net. Then Park slid into the goalmouth to bundle the ball across the line in the second minute of injury time.
Coach Rae Chong-kwang saluted his men for taking full points against a determined UAE.
“It was unexpectedly difficult, but our players showed their will and motivation,” Rae said.
“I will keep the team intact until the end of our stay in the Middle East (when they face Lebanon on Tuesday).
“In the first half we focused on stabilizing our defense and midfield, and that’s why we didn’t venture deeper into their half, but in the second half we changed our tactics and it worked well.”

UAE came up with the first chance of the match but captain Subait Khater was a tad late in pulling the trigger from the edge of the area in the 7th minute. Park missed a great opportunity on 19 minutes after a counterattack allowed him to go clear with just UAE goalkeeper Majed Naser to beat. Park, though, hesitated and Basheer Saeed raced back to regain possession for the hosts.
Soon after, Saeed was shot straight at South Korea goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong from a 25-meter free kick, and Mohammed Ahmed missed for the home side after a free kick left him open to shoot in the 35th.
UAE midfielder Ali Abbas nearly scored an own goal when his glancing header threatened to go in before it was cleared by Fares Juma with five minutes to play in the first half.
South Korea returned stronger after the break and won an early free kick that was fired wide by Hong Chul, but at the other end Ismail Al Hammadi swivelled and half-volleyed high from close range for UAE.
Mohammed Ahmed pushed over Park in the box from behind, but the referee ignored pleas from South Korea for a penalty. The Koreans eventually came through at the very end.

Uzbekistan 1, N. Korea 0
In Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Timur Kapadze scored in the second half to secure Uzbekistan’s 1-0 victory over North Korea in a World Cup qualifier.
The result ended North Korea’s hopes of qualifying for a second straight World Cup, making it the first team to have played in South Africa in 2010 to be eliminated from the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
Kapadze headed in Alexander Geynrikh’s corner in the 49th minute as the home side dominated the game.
Despite their domination Uzbekistan failed to find a breakthrough in the first half.
Alexander Geynrikh, who scored the winner when the two teams played in Pyongyang last month, hit the crossbar in the 18th minute. A minute later, Maksim Shatskikh’s low shot from just inside the box hit the left post.
Geynrikh again came close with a minute remaining in the first half.
After the restart, North Korea goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk tipped the ball over the crossbar to keep out an own goal before Kapadze found the net.
The visitors pressed for an equalizer, forcing Ignatiy Nesterov to make several saves to preserve the victory.

Bahrain 1, Iran 1
In Manama, Iran scored an injury time equaliser to claim a share of the spoils in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Bahrain.
Bahrain had given their hopes of moving closer to a first participation in the World Cup a boost when Mahmood Mirza Al Ajami gave the hosts a 46th minute lead against the run of play.
However Mojtaba Jabari ended the hosts’ yearning for a precious three points when he latched on to a ball which had deflected off the Bahrain crossbar to beat goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer in the third minute of injury time.
The result left Iran, who had won the first-leg 6-0 in Tehran exactly a month ago, leading Group E with eight points from four matches while Bahrain stay third on five points.
It was another heartbreaking experience for Bahrain who have twice come agonizingly close to realizing their dreams of playing in the soccer showpiece event, although Iran deserved the point for their patience and perseverance, particularly in the second half when they repeatedly came close to scoring.
The match started on a tense note and under tight security due to recent unrest in the region and a growing rift between the two countries — a situation which was intensified by a masked man waving a Bahraini flag who invaded the pitch late in the first half.

Iraq 1, China 0
In Doha, Qatar, Iraq captain Younus Mahmood scored a dramatic winner in injury time to earn his side a 1-0 victory over 10-man China.
The turning point in the game at Doha’s Al Arabi Stadium came when China’s Zhang Linpeng was sent off in the 85th minute of a keenly contested match for hacking down Mahmood as he headed for goal.
China’s defense was caught on the counter attack in the second minute of stoppage time by Mahmood, who found space and raced into the penalty area before drilling a powerful shot past goalkeeper Jiang Bo and into the roof of the net.
China enjoyed most of the first-half possession but were let down by a lack of finishing in front of goal.
Li Weifeng had a shot blocked by the Iraqi defense marshaled by Quasay Muneer in the 19th minute, while China had a goal ruled out for offside in the 27th.
The best save of the match came in the 79th minute when China’s enterprising midfielder Hao Jinmin curled in a free kick that was parried Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Kassid at full stretch. China fans in the stadium occasionally entertained the crowd with a Mexican wave, while Iraqi supporters celebrated their team’s victory with chants of ‘Younus Younus.’

Jordan 2, Singapore 0
In Amman, Jordan beat Singapore 2-0 to earn a place in the fourth round of Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup with two games to spare.
Ahmed Hayel Ibrahim opened the scoring at the Amman International Stadium with a powerful shot in the 15th minute and Amer Deeb sealed the points when he beat Singapore goalkeeper Lionel Lewis after some poor defending in the 64th.
Jordan came close to adding a third when Hassan Abdul Fattah hit the post in the 80th minute.
Victory meant Jordan are already guaranteed to finish in the top two of Group A, which they leads with a maximum 12 points from four games. Iraq, which Jordan play on Nov 15, are second with nine points, while China have three and Singapore zero.