This weekend's round of Asian World Cup Qualifiers witnessed the filling of 3 of its 4 automatic spots. In Group 1, Australia secured its spot in South Africa with a 0-0 draw against Qatar. 2010 will mark the 3rd time that the Socceroos will appear in The Great Tournament.
Japan also locked up the other automatic spot from Group 1 after their 1-0 road win against Uzbekistan. Shimizu S-Pulse's forward Shinji Okazaki's early goal in the 9th minute locked up the 3 points and Japan's 4th World Cup appearance.
The other team that secured their reservations to South Africa came from Group 2 and will take the plane from Seoul. South Korea, The Tigers of Asia beat the United Arab Emirates 2-0 on the road to secure its 8th trip to The Great Tournament. Their northern neighbors, North Korea could have secured their place in South Africa but a scoreless draw at home versus Iran delayed qualification.
The last automatic spot for Asia will come down to the Saudi Arabia-North Korea match in Riyadh on June 17th.
Here are the results & standings of the June 6th qualifiers:
SATURDAY, JUNE 6th
Group 1
Qatar 0 - 0 Australia
Uzbekistan 0 - 1 Japan
JAP: Shinji Okazaki (9')
GROUP 1 STANDINGS
Group 2
Korea DPR (N. Korea) 0 - 0 Iran
UAE 0 - 2 Korea Republic (S. Korea)
KOR: Park Chu Young (5') & Ki Sung Yueng (37')
GROUP 2 STANDINGS
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