Football: Singapore, Thailand edge nearer World Cup 2010

edelweiss101

Posted: 18 November 2007 2254 hrs

SINGAPORE : Singapore held Tajikistan to a 1-1 draw in Dushanbe while Thailand ground out a 1-0 victory at home over Yemen ON Sunday to book their places in the preliminary 2010 World Cup draw in South Africa next weekend.

But Hong Kong and Indonesia crashed out of contention with Turkmenistan and Syria securing the two final berths.

They join 11 Asian teams who had already qualified for the third round along with the top seeds from the region - Australia, Japan, South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia - who received byes.

At the draw in Durban the countries will be split into five groups of four teams with the winners and runners-up advancing to the fourth round of Asian qualifying.

It will culminate with four teams from Asia playing at the World Cup in 2010, with the region's fifth-ranked team playing off against the top side from Oceania.

Singapore took a 2-0 advantage into their showdown with Tajikistan and dug in to ensure they made it to the preliminary draw for the first time.

The Tajiks grabbed the lead after just two minutes through Jamshed Ismailov but the Lions held firm, knowing they still had a one-goal cushion.

They pressed forward and were awarded when Noh Alam Shah gave them the equaliser after 27 minutes on a pitch that was rock-hard and devoid of grass in places.

At Bangkok's Supachalasai stadium, Sarayoot Chaikamdee was the hero with his 15th minute strike proving decisive, allowing the Thais to go through 2-1 on aggregate.

But there was agony for Hong Kong as Turkmenistan eased to a 3-0 victory in Ashgabat for a 3-0 aggregate win, while Syria embarrassed Indonesia with a 7-0 thrashing in Damascus.

It gave the Syrians an 11-1 aggregate win and undoes much of the progress the Indonesians made at the Asian Cup this year, where they beat Bahrain and only narrowly lost to powerhouses Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

The other Asian teams through to the third round draw include Bahrain, China, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, UAE, and Uzbekistan. - AFP/de


Results:

Tajikistan 1 Singapore 1
(Singapore win 3-1 on aggregate)

Turkmenistan 3 Hong Kong 0
(Turkmenistan win 3-0 on aggregate)

Syria 7 Indonesia 0
(Syria win 11-1 on aggregate)

Thailand 1 Yemen 0
(Thailand win 2-1 on aggregate)

Pak_Jen

masuk group stage abislah diaorg neh.. tapi msia awal2 dah bungkos..

dragonaga

tapi  aku paling terkejut dgn performance Indonesia....abis kena belasah teruk dgn Syria..... masa Asia Cup aritu orait je.... skrg abis bungkus.....

Singapore ngan Thailand tu, tak tahan lama lah tu....

edelweiss101

Malaysia and Singapore soccer were born almost at the same time, i would love to see both teams qualify for World Cup finals!!!

edelweiss101

Malaysia and Singapore soccer were born almost at the same time, i would love to see both teams qualify for World Cup finals!!!

edelweiss101

Malaysia and Singapore soccer were born almost at the same time, i would love to see both teams qualify for World Cup finals!!!

edelweiss101

Malaysia and Singapore soccer were born almost at the same time, i would love to see both teams qualify for World Cup finals!!!

gjoy_chester

Nothing more to talk about Malaysia football..

gjoy_chester

Nothing more to talk about Malaysia football..

gjoy_chester

Nothing more to talk about Malaysia football..

edelweiss101

Road to South Africa: Lions look to clip Green Falcons' wings

Saudi Arabia vs Singapore

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Kick off: 2015hrs (Singapore time Thursday 7 February 0115hrs)

King Fahad International Stadium

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia


*The FAS Official Website (www.fas.org.sg) will carry 憀ive

edelweiss101

Road to South Africa: Battling Lions go down 2-0 to Saudi in 3rd round opener  

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa TM Asian Qualifiers Round 3, Group 4

Saudi Arabia 2-0 Singapore

Wednesday 6 February 2008

King Fahad International Stadium
Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaRIYADH, 6 February 2008:

Singapore went down 2-0 to Asian giants Saudi Arabia in the opening Group 4 Third Round World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Two late goals in each half were enough for all three points for the four-time World Cup Finalists.The home side had the majority of possession in the first half with Singapore restricted to half chances of shots from the edge of the box. One such effort saw John Wilkinson crack his volley just wide of the post from the edge of the box. The Saudis however looked dangerous whenever they were on the attack and their persistence paid off when AFC Player of the Year Yasser Alqathani shrugged off the attentions of two defenders to chip the advancing Lionel Lewis for the opening goal on 38 minutes.Our Lions almost had an instant response with Wilkinson volleying straight at the keeper from just outside the box following a corner. Just before half-time, Aleksandar Duric conjured up a chance when his dipping shot the top of the box sailed just wide of the post. Overall, the home side were well worth their slender lead at the break and they started the second half in almost the same fashion. Our Lions then slowly worked their way back into the game and started stringing more passes together but lacked penetration up front and in our final pass. Mustafic Fahrudin came closest to levelling matters when his speculative effort from 20 metres went just wide of the keeper's right after 65 minutes. Saudi remained dangerous and they made the game safe with a moment of brilliance by substitute Malek Alhawsawi nine minutes from time. Malek received the ball just inside the box and despite the close attentions of two of our defenders, swivelled and bent a right-foot curler beyond Lewis' outstretched arms to nestle nicely in the bottom right corner of the net. In the other Group 4 game played earlier this evening in Beirut, Uzbekistan came away with all three points after a 1-0 win over Lebanon..The next matches are on 26 March with Singapore hosting Lebanon and Uzbekistan at home to Saudi Arabia.

Singapore: Lionel Lewis (gk) (captain), Noh Rahman, Baihakki Khaizan, Precious Emuejeraye, Daniel Bennett, Shahril Ishak, Mustafic Fahrudin, John Wilkinson, Shi Jiayi, Khairul Amri (Ridhuan Muhammad 46') and Aleksandar Duric (Indra Sahdan 86')

dru_helle

singapor byk pemain importla...