Saudi Arabia put its campaign on track by recording a much-needed 3-0 win over Thailand in a Group D match of the World Cup Asian Qualifying Championship here Friday. After a lackluster and barren first session Saudi Arabia made its home fans happy by pumping in three goals. After Nayef Hazazi put the hosts in the lead in the 58th minute, Ahmed Al-Fraidi made it 2-0 in the 78th minute and Mohammed Noor completed the tally in the 88th minute. The victory lifted Saudi Arabia into second place (5 points) in the group behind Australia (9 points) which suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to Oman. Meanwhile, Japan, Uzbekistan and Jordan became the first sides through to the fourth round. South Korea also edged towards one of the 10 places in the fourth round when it won 2-0 away at United Arab Emirates. Late goals by Lee Keun-ho and captain Park Chu-young left the Koreans in a position to advance from Group B Tuesday if it beats lowly Lebanon. Earlier in Dushanbe, Japan thrashed Tajikistan 4-0 before Uzbekistan beat North Korea 1-0 at home to send the duo through from Group C with 10 points from four matches. In the fourth round the 10 teams will be split in to two groups of five with the top two from each guaranteed a place at the 2014 finals in Brazil. Jordan will be one of the sides looking forward to the fourth round draw after it booked its place with a 2-0 home win over Singapore to maintain its 100 percent record in Group A. It looks set to be joined by former Asian champion Iraq who beat China 1-0 for the second time in a month to leave the world's most populous country on the brink of failure. Iraqi skipper Younus Mahmood was again the thorn in the side of Jose Antonio Camacho's side as he grabbed a second-half winner for the ‘home side' in the Group A match played in Qatar because of security fears. Three-time Asian champion Iran remains top of Group E but only after a stoppage time equalizer by Mojtaba Jabari grabbed them a 1-1 draw in Bahrain Friday. Qatar is level with Iran on eight points after it eased past Indonesia 4-0 in Doha with former Asian Player of the Year Ibrahim Khalfan scoring twice. Lebanon produced another surprise result by winning 1-0 in Kuwait to move into second in Group B.
