Saudi Arabia came from behind to beat Lebanon 4-1 in their Asian World Cup qualifier at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Monday. Mahmoud Al-Ali put the visitors ahead few minutes before the break but Saudi striker Yasser Al-Qahtani scored the equalizer. In the second half, Osama Hawsawi put Sadui Arabia one up while Redha Tukar soon after made it 3-1. Qahtani made it 4-1 for the host just before time. The win lifted Saudi Arabia to the second spot in Group D with six points, three behind Uzbekistan, which beat the Saudis 3-0 in March. Uzbekistan, however, strengthened its position at the top of the group with a third consecutive win, a 7-3 thumping of Singapore at National Stadium. In Riyadh, the host dominated the first half but Dos Anjos' men were unable to create any clear chances against a Lebanese side which depended on counterattacks. Saudi Arabia had a couple of chances in the first five minutes of the match when Zaid Al-Mouallad and Khaled Aziz missed Lari Muahna's goal by inches. Qahtani's shot was also blocked in the 30th minute and so was Malek Al-Hawsawi shot three minutes later. Lebanese striker Mahmoud Al-Ali silenced the crowd with his 43rd minute goal, but Qahtani restored order two minutes later with a goal on a Zaid Al-Moualad cross. Osama scored the second goal for the host in the 63rd minute on a move that started with a corner kick. Tukar increased the Saudi lead in the 84th minute through a header also on a Mohammed Al-Shalhoub corner kick. Qahtani put the result beyond doubt in the 91st minute when he kicked the ball rebounding off Lari Muhana. Saudi Arabia will again face Lebanon on June 7. Uzbekistan took a grip on the match against Singapore with three goals in the latter part of the first half. Server Djeparov got two of them and Vitaliy Denisov another, after early strikes by Timur Kapadze and Victor Karpenko were canceled out by Singapore's Aleksandar Duric and Mustafic Fahrudin. Aziz Ibragimov and Dynamo Kyiv striker Maxim Shatskikh scored in the second half to complete a rout that ensured Uzbekistan would stay top of the group at the halfway stage. Elsewhere Bahrain fortified its group lead with crucial away victory. After coming agonizingly close to reaching the 2006 Cup, Bahrain boosted its chances of making the 2010 Finals beating a battling Thailand 3-2. Japan comfortably saw off Oman 3-0 in Yokohama to move within three points of Bahrain in Group 2, while United Arab Emirates kept its lead in the all-Middle East Group 5 after holding struggling heavyweight Iran to a goalless draw. The Gulf champion the UAE heads the group on goals scored, ahead of Syria, which clinched a 1-0 win over Kuwait. North Korea missed its chance to go top of Group 3 ahead of its rival from the South after being held to a 0-0 draw with Turkmenistan and Qatar clung on to second place in Group 1 after their goalless encounter with China in Doha. Australia leads the Group by three points. Ten countries will progress to the final round of qualifiers, five of whom can earn places at South Africa 2010. Australia, Japan thru In Vietnam, Japan and Australia both secured a place in the semifinals of the Women's Asian Cup Monday, joining North Korea and China as the teams still standing. The Australians sneaked into the last four despite suffering a 3-1 defeat to Japan in their final Group B game at Thong Nat Stadium. Japan, meanwhile, needed to win by two clear goals and it put itself firmly in the driving seat with strikes from Kozue Ando, Yuki Nagasto and Aiya Miyama giving them a three-goal cushion after 48 minutes. Clare Polkinghorne pulled a goal back in the 70th minute but the Australians were unable to further reduce the deficit. However, the result proved inconsequential as both sides progressed due to South Korea only beating Taiwan 2-0. All the three sides ended on six points but Japan and Australia had a better goal difference. The semifinals are on Thursday with the final three days later. __
