South Korea poised to qualify for W. Cup

South Korea poised to qualify for W. Cup

TASHKENT (Reuters): South Korea was poised to qualify for the World Cup finals on Saturday after thrashing Uzbekistan 5-1 in an Asian Group B qualifier while nearest rival United Arab Emirates lost 3-0.

Kazakhstan beat the UAE 3-0 in a game marred by a fight among the players in the dying minutes which police had to break up.

In Tashkent, South Korea, yet to lose in 10 World Cup qualifying matches, increased its lead over the UAE to nine points and needs just one point to qualify for France.

The Koreans were up 3-0 at halftime and were never seriously troubled.

The UAE has three games to play and can still technically overtake South Korea which it plays at home on Nov. 7. But the Koreans have a far superior goal difference.

Kazakhstan's encounter with UAE got off to a slow start but Vitaly Sparyshev headed Kazakhstan into the lead in the 55th minute and it dominated the rest of the game.

The game erupted in the 88th minute with several players involved in a fight. Kazakh police ran on to the field to break up the brawl amid jeers from the crowd.

Kazakh player Sergei Timofeyev and the UAE's Bakhit Saad Mubarak were both sent off after the incident.

Standings:

P W D L F A Pts 1. South Korea 6 5 1 0 16 5 16 2. UAE 5 2 1 2 8 8 7 3. Japan 5 1 3 1 9 7 6 4. Kazakhstan 6 1 3 2 6 10 6 5. Uzbekistan 6 0 2 4 9 18 2

Remaining fixtures: Oct. 25 Uzbekistan v Kazakhstan, Oct. 25 or Oct. 26 Japan v UAE, Nov. 1 or Nov. 2 South Korea v Japan, Nov. 2 UAE v Uzbekistan, Nov. 7 UAE v South Korea, Nov. 8 or Nov. 9 Japan v Kazakhstan.