BEIRUT: Bahrain took pole position in Group C of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, after thrashing Cambodia 8-0 on Thursday.
Following their win, Bahrain sit on 12 points, one ahead of Iraq, who are scheduled to play Iran on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iran defeated Hong Kong 3-1 in their match to move nine points.
In Kuwait, Nepal maintained their place as the fourth best team in Group B, when they won against Chinese Taipei 2-0 in their Asian Qualifiers return at Jaber Al-Hamad International Stadium on Thursday.
Already out of the Qatar 2022 qualifying race before Thursday’s match, the result kept Chinese Taipei in last position on zero points from six matches.
In the same group, Australia won over Kuwait 3-0.
Reviving their hopes to qualify, Palestine defeated Singapore 4-0 as they played in Riyadh in Group D of the Asian Qualifiers for the World Cup 2022 and Asian Cup 2023.
Winning was Palestine’s only hope and so they went into the game needing the 3-point victory to climb up the group standings.
They duly delivered the win in expert fashion as they brushed aside Singapore, taking full control of the first half and holding their ground in the second as they saw out the win.
World Cup hosts, Qatar stretched their lead in Group E of the Asian Qualifiers for both competitions when they hosted in Doha India and defeated them 1-0 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday.
The win took Qatar to 19 points, seven ahead of Oman, who have two matches in hand and will face Felix Sanchez’s side next Monday. In the same group E, Bangladesh and Afghanistan tied 1-1.
In Dubai, the UAE kept their hopes of a place in the next round of the Asian Qualifiers on track after defeating Malaysia 4-0 in their Group G on Thursday.
Ali Mabkhout struck in each half to help the Whites secure three vital points, with his double taking him past Lionel Messi and Sunil Chhetri as the second highest scoring active player in international football, behind only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
