DOHA: Syria maintained their perfect start to the second of round of Asian qualifying for the 2022 World Cup on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over the Philippines that keeps Fajr Ibrahim’s side in pole position to advance to the next phase.

The Syrians, who narrowly missed out on a place at the finals in Russia last year despite the ongoing civil war at home, claimed all three points in Dubai as a result of Ward Salama’s goal midway through the first half.

Ibrahim’s side have now won five games in a row and lead Group ‘A’ by eight points from China, who did not play on Tuesday, and the Philippines.

The winners of each of the eight groups plus the four best runners-up advance to the next phase of qualifying, which will commence in September next year.

Vietnam saw their lead at the top of Group ‘G’ trimmed to two points after Park Hang-seo’s side were held to a 0-0 draw by Thailand as Malaysia moved into second in the group due to their 2-0 victory over Indonesia.

The Malaysians moved into second in the group thanks to a brace from Safawi Rashid — including a superb free kick to open the scoring — at a packed Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

Vietnam have 11 points while Malaysia are ahead of Thailand on nine points, one more than Akira Nishino’s side. Top seeds the United Arab Emirates, who did not play on Tuesday, are in fourth with six points.

Hong Kong fans turned their backs to the Chinese national anthem once again but supported their team and were rewarded with a first win in qualifying, 2-0 over Cambodia.

Before the match, home fans jeered and turned their backs to the pitch as the Chinese national anthem played. FIFA fined the Hong Kong Football Association 15,000 Swiss francs (13,700 euros or HK$117,944) following a similar incident before the September 10 match against Iran.

On Tuesday, James Ha put the hosts ahead with a close-range half-volley in the 21st minute.

Cambodia, under pressure for most of the match, were reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute when Soeuy Visal was sent off after flicking the ball out of the goalkeeper’s hands to collect a second yellow card.

Despite the disparity in numbers, the hard-working Roberto Affonso Junior was still surrounded by four Cambodian defenders when he spun on the edge of the box five minutes later and curled the ball into the net.

Hong Kong have five points in Group ‘C’, while Cambodia stayed bottom with one.

Iraq, playing against Bahrain at the neutral venue of the Amman International Stadium in Jordan, remained on top of Group ‘C’ with 11 points, two points ahead of Bahrain and a further three clear of Iran, despite being held to a goalless draw.

Across town, at the King Abdullah II International Stadium, Jordan secured the biggest win of the day when they beat Chinese Taipei, 5-0. Jordan moved level with Kuwait in Group ‘B’ at 10 points, two behind leaders Australia who have played one fewer match. Kuwait kept their hopes alive with a 1-0 win over Nepal.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan both have on seven points in Group ‘F’ after they shared a 1-1 draw in Bishkek after Tamirlan Kozubaev struck seven minutes from time to earn the home side a point.

Both nations are five points behind group leaders Japan, who did not play on Tuesday and have a game in hand, while Myanmar pulled themselves back into contention for second spot with their 1-0 win over Mongolia.

Uzbekistan bounced back from their late loss against Saudi Arabia last week with a 2-0 win over Palestine in Group ‘D’.

Turkmenistan defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 to top Group ‘H’ on nine points. Lebanon and North Korea moved level with South Korea on eight points following their scoreless draw.

Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts, secured their third successive win in Group ‘E’ with a 1-0 away triumph over a battling Afghanistan. The all-important goal at the neutral venue in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, was scored by forward Akram Afif when he converted a penalty in the 76th minute.

Also in Group ‘E’, Oman beat India, 1-0, with agoal by Mohsin Al Ghassani in the 33rd minute. Oman have 12 points from five matches, one behind Qatar. India, who needed a win to keep their hopes alive, are fourth behind Afghanistan with three points from three draws in five matches.

The next round of matches is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, next year.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2019