Pim Verbeek's rookie Australian side opened its 2011 Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a gritty 0-0 draw against Indonesia on Wednesday but triple champions Japan slumped to a 1-0 defeat in Bahrain.
In other action, Peter Reid's Thailand held Ali Daei's formidable Iran, also three-time champions, to a 0-0 draw in Bangkok while Syria, who are in Group D along with China, kept up their perfect record with a second win, a 2-0 succes in Lebanon. Australia are second in Group B ahead of newly-crowned Gulf Cup winners Oman's trip to Kuwait later Wednesday.
Japan, who were Asian champions in 1992, 2000 and 2004, went down to a 1-0 defeat to Bahrain in Manama with Salman Isa scoring the winner in the 25th minute to give Bahrain their second successive victory. In Sana'a, Yemen kept up their outside hopes of making the finals in Qatar with a 1-0 win over Hong Kong.
Iran were expected to take all three points after running riot in a 6-0 drubbing of Singapore in their opening qualifier, but the Thais battled hard for a point to stay second in Group E. In Group C, a 30th-minute goal from Farhod Tadijev gave Uzbekistan a 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Sharjah in their first match.
The UAE stay top of the three-team section after a 5-0 mauling of Malaysia in their opener.
Five teams have already booked their tickets with Qatar qualifying automatically as hosts while Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea are assured of their places after finishing as the top three in the 2007 tournament.
India make the finals after winning the AFC Challenge Cup last year.
Results:
Bahrain 1 Japan 0
Yemen 1 Hong Kong 0
Indonesia 0 Australia 0
Kuwait 0 Oman 1
United Arab Emirates 0 Uzbekistan 1
Lebanon 0 Syria 2
Singapore 2 Jordan 1
Thailand 0 Iran 0
In other action, Peter Reid's Thailand held Ali Daei's formidable Iran, also three-time champions, to a 0-0 draw in Bangkok while Syria, who are in Group D along with China, kept up their perfect record with a second win, a 2-0 succes in Lebanon. Australia are second in Group B ahead of newly-crowned Gulf Cup winners Oman's trip to Kuwait later Wednesday.
Japan, who were Asian champions in 1992, 2000 and 2004, went down to a 1-0 defeat to Bahrain in Manama with Salman Isa scoring the winner in the 25th minute to give Bahrain their second successive victory. In Sana'a, Yemen kept up their outside hopes of making the finals in Qatar with a 1-0 win over Hong Kong.
Iran were expected to take all three points after running riot in a 6-0 drubbing of Singapore in their opening qualifier, but the Thais battled hard for a point to stay second in Group E. In Group C, a 30th-minute goal from Farhod Tadijev gave Uzbekistan a 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Sharjah in their first match.
The UAE stay top of the three-team section after a 5-0 mauling of Malaysia in their opener.
Five teams have already booked their tickets with Qatar qualifying automatically as hosts while Iraq, Saudi Arabia and South Korea are assured of their places after finishing as the top three in the 2007 tournament.
India make the finals after winning the AFC Challenge Cup last year.
Results:
Bahrain 1 Japan 0
Yemen 1 Hong Kong 0
Indonesia 0 Australia 0
Kuwait 0 Oman 1
United Arab Emirates 0 Uzbekistan 1
Lebanon 0 Syria 2
Singapore 2 Jordan 1
Thailand 0 Iran 0
