North Korea clinched the fourth automatic berth from Asia for the 2010 World Cup Finals after holding Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday. Australia, Japan and South Korea had already booked their tickets to the Finals earlier. North Korea finished second to neighbors South Korea in Group B. Saudi Arabia and North Korea tied for second with 12 points but North Korea clinched the berth on better goal difference. Saudi Arabia which finished third will now play Bahrain which stood third in Group A on Sept. 5 and 9 playoffs. The winner then will take on Oceania champion New Zealand for a place in the World Cup. Saudis who are targeting a fifth World Cup appearance dominated the whole game but failed to find the target against a dour North Korean defense. Saudi Arabia almost took the lead after 17 minutes through Yasser Al-Qahtani but the Korean goalkeeper Myong Guk saved the situation. Two minutes later, defender Kwang Chon cleared Naif Hazazi's header just few inches from the goal line. Saudis continued to press forward and Myong Guk made a timely save off a brilliant bicycle kick by Hazazi in the 29th minute. Soon after the break, Al-Qahtani missed a golden chance when he shot straight to goalkeeper. In Manama, Bahrain defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 to earn playoffs. Bahrain only needed a draw to make the playoffs but grabbed all three points after Mahmood Abdulrahman scored from a stunning free kick in the 74th minute. Bahrain finished third in Group A behind Australia and Japan. Australia topped the Group A with a 2-1 victory over Japan in Melbourne. Tim Cahill scored both the goals in second half. Japan took the lead through Marcus Tulio Tanaka in the 40th minute. In the other Group B match, Iran drew with South Korea in Seoul. Iran went ahead through an own goal in the 51st minute from South Korea's Kim Dong-jin. South Korea equalized through a masterful goal from Park Ji
