Japan, South Korea warm up for World Cup qualifying with wins

DUBAI: In their final international contests before the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup begins in June, Japan and South Korea both won on Tuesday.

Japan scored four second-half goals to beat Uzbekistan 5-1 and win their second straight game under coach Vahid Halilhodzic while South Korea squeezed past New Zealand 1-0 in another friendly.

China, though, couldn’t match their Asian rivals as they needed a stoppage-time equaliser for a 1-1 draw in Jiangsu against a Tunisia side which was on Tuesday allowed to take part in qualifying for the 2017 African Cup of Nations which starts in June after a dispute with CAF.

Following their flop at January’s Asian Cup, Japan hired Halihodzic who began with a 2-0 win over Tunisia on Friday before their explosive performance floored Uzbekistan in Tokyo.

Toshihiro Aoyama put the hosts ahead with a shot from 30 metres in the seventh minute and Shinji Okazaki doubled the advantage with a header 10 minutes after the break and Gaku Shibasaki then made it 3-0 in the 79th with an outrageous lob from just inside the Uzbekistan half.

Uzbekistan replied two minutes later through Islom Tukhtakhujaev, only for Takashi Usami to slalom past three defenders and smash home his first goal for Japan before Kenga Kawamata completed the rout.

“It was a spectacular display,” said Halilhodzic, who replaced Javier Aguirre after the Mexican was sacked over allegations of match-fixing dating back to his time in Spain. “I’d like to say ‘Bravo!’ to the players. To score five goals is special.”

South Korea gave veteran defender Cha Du-ri a winning send-off into retirement after substitute Lee Jae-sung steered home an 86th-minute winner on a rainy evening at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

South Korea struggled for most of the match against the feisty Kiwis with the 34-year-old Cha wearing the captain’s armband in the first half and played for 42 minutes, before leaving to a rousing standing ovation to end his international career with 76 caps.

“I was never a great player but I always tried my best and I’m happy that you appreciated me for that,” Cha, who will continue his club career with FC Seoul, told the 33,000-plus crowd.

“I really believed that I could be better but there came a time when reality hit me and from then on I decided I should just try to enjoy football and be happy.”

China had Yu Dabao to thank for a goal in the fourth minute of injury-time at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre as they managed to secure a draw against Tunisia who had taken the lead through Mohamed Ali Moncer in the 39th.

FALCAO EQUALS RECORD

Kuwait, also preparing for World Cup qualifying, played on Monday when they were beaten 3-1in Abu Dhabi by Colombia for whom striker Radamel Falcao equalled their international goals record.

Falcao scored from the penalty spot in the 74th minute and took his tally to 24 in 56 internationals, level with former striker Arnoldo Iguaran, with his third goal in two matches on tour in the Middle East after a brace in Colombia’s 6-0 rout of Bahrain last Thursday.

Colombia, warming up for the Copa America in Chile from June 11-July 4, took the lead with a volley by holding midfielder Abel Aguilar in the 22nd minute but Musaed Alenezi levelled on the stroke of halftime for Kuwait.

Edwin Cardona restored Colombia’s lead in the 68th with a long-range striker before Falcao made sure of the victory.

“I am happy to have scored but the most important thing is the victory for the team,” said Falcao. “These wins will help to build confidence for the Copa America.”

Asian champions Australia, meanwhile, could not build on last week’s 2-2 draw against world champions Germany in Kaiserslautern after they were held by European minnows Macedonia in a dour scoreless draw at the at Phillip II Arena in Skopje on Monday.

Also on Monday, Cameroon scraped a 3-2 win over Thailand courtesy an 88th-minute winner from defender Ngweni Ndassi Kadiang which salvaged pride for the four-time African champions in Bangkok after they trailed by two goals.

Although 93 places below Cameroon in the world rankings, the Thai ‘War Elephants’ rocked the ‘Indomitable Lions’ when Prakit Deeprom’s score and Aurelien Chedjou’s own-goal gave Thailand a 2-0 lead.

Benjamin Moukandjo pulled one goal back before half-time and Clinton N’Jie equalised from a penalty with 13 minutes left. Victory completed a two-win Asian tour for Cameroon after a 1-0 success in Indonesia — ranked even lower than Thailand — last Wednesday.

Parma striker Ishak Belfodil and Valencia winger Sofiane Feghouli scored two goals each as Algeria, the top-ranked team in Africa, crushed Oman 4-1 at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha while Gabon were held 0-0 by Belarus in Turkish city Antalya.

Elsewhere, Canada — warming up for June’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying — won 3-0 away at Puerto Rico with Tosaint Ricketts scoring late in the first half and second-half substitutes Randy Edwini-Bonsu and Cyle Larin each scoring their first senior international goals in the 60th and 77th minutes.

Results:

Tuesday:

China 1 Tunisia 1

Japan 5 Uzbekistan 1

Singapore 2 Guam 2

South Korea 1 New Zealand 0

Monday:

Algeria 4 Oman 1

Gabon 0 Belarus 0

Kuwait 1 Colombia 3

Macedonia 0 Australia 0

Puerto Rico 0 Canada 3