SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA // Nawaf Al Abed buried two penalties in the last nine minutes as Saudi Arabia came from a goal down to beat regional rivals Iraq 2-1 in 2018 World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
War-torn Iraq, playing their home fixture in Malaysia’s Shah Alam, struck early through Mohannad Abdulraheem and looked headed for victory as the clock ticked down.
But on 81 minutes, after Saad Natiq brought down Hassan Muath in the box, Abed drilled home a powerful equaliser from the spot.
And there was more to come after Abed won another penalty, which he converted in the 87th minute to hand the Saudis their second win in two third-round Asian qualifying matches so far.
It takes Abed’s tally to three late penalties in Saudi Arabia’s two games after he hit the 84th-minute winner from the spot in last week’s 1-0 victory over Thailand.
The result badly dents Iraq’s chances of winning one of the two automatic berths for Russia 2018 from the six-team Group B, after they lost last week’s opener 2-0 to Australia.
Takuma Asano bounced back from last week’s disallowed goal controversy as he hit Japan’s second in a 2-0 win over Thailand which reignited their World Cup qualifying bid on Tuesday.
Asano was denied a clear goal in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to UAE when officials failed to see his shot had crossed the line, but there was no doubt when he scored in Bangkok.
After Genki Haraguchi’s first-half opener, Asano squeezed his shot under goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan to give Japan a two-goal cushion on 75 minutes.
The victory restores Japan’s fortunes in Group B, where they are aiming to become one of two teams to win automatic qualification for Russia 2018.
Japan ran Thailand ragged, with the passing and movement of AC Milan’s Keisuke Honda and Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa cutting through the home side’s defence with ease.
Former Manchester United man Kagawa missed several clear chances.
But the breakthrough came on 17 minutes as Hertha Berlin’s Haraguchi stooped to head home a deliciously weighted cross from the right.
It threatened a deluge of goals but Thailand clung on, thanks largely to goalkeeper Kawin who made several sharp saves to keep his side in the game.
His heroics nearly paid dividends on 70 minutes when a sweetly timed reverse pass put Thailand striker Teerasil Dangda through on the Japanese goal.
But the one-time Almeria loan player – Thailand’s first export to Spain’s Primera Liga – could only scoop his shot at the goalkeeper.
Five minutes later Asano, on loan at Stuttgart from Arsenal, pounced on a bungled clearance and his shot squirmed under the diving Kawin, sparking joy among the Japanese fans.
Thailand, who have not beaten Japan since 1997, now have an uphill task following two defeats in the space of a week.
They went down 1-0 to Saudi Arabia on Thursday after a contentious late penalty decision against them.
Stoic Syria keep South Korea at bay
South Korea hit a speed bump in their bid to reach a 10th World Cup as they were held to a goalless draw on Tuesday against a Syrian side that is unable to play at home due to the country’s long-running, bloody conflict.
The frustrated South Koreans dominated possession during the match held in the Malaysian city of Seremban but largely failed to threaten the Syrian goal.
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