Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Japan guaranteed their places in next year's Asian Cup finals on Wednesday, joining co-hosts Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The four, along with Australia, which already had qualified, brought to nine the number of teams that have secured places in the 16-team field for the July 7-29 event.
Saudi Arabia beat India 7-1 for its fourth straight victory and claimed a place from Group A, while Qatar downed Bangladesh 3-0 to assure itself of the Group F title.
UAE drew 0-0 at home with Jordan, keeping it ahead of Oman in Group C and also making sure it cannot be overtaken by the third-place Jordanians with two rounds remaining. Likewise, three-time champion Japan beat Yemen 1-0 on a second-half injury time goal by Kazuki Ganaha, assuring of it at least second place behind Saudi Arabia in Group A.
The top two teams from each of the six qualifying groups advance to the finals along with the co-hosts.
Two-time champion South Korea moved to the verge of qualification, routing Taiwan 8-0, but will have to wait until at least next month to earn its place.
In other games, Iran moved closer to a berth with a 2-0 victory at Syria in Group B; Oman strengthened its bid with a 5-0 victory over Pakistan; Kuwait handed the Australians their first loss in qualifying, 2-0; Group E was left undecided with a 2-2 draw between Iraq and Palestine and a 0-0 result between Singapore and China; while Hong Kong and Uzbekistan drew 0-0 to remain tied for the last berth from Group F.
In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the hosts overcame a 22nd-minute goal by N.S. Manju with the first of two goals by Saleh Bashir in the 30th and another by Eisa Al Mehiani in the 33rd. Bashir scored his second in the opening minute of the second half and Ahmed Al Suwaileh added a pair in the final 12 minutes as Saudi Arabia, a two-time champion, assured itself of a seventh straight trip to the Asian Cup finals.
In Doha, Qatar, Hussain Yasser and Adel Lamy scored first-half goals and Qatar cruised past Bangladesh. Saad Al Shammari added a third for the Qataris which improved to 4-0, winning by a combined score of 12-2.
In San`a, Yemen, Ganaha scored from a cross in the first minute of injury time to give Japan the victory after it had controlled the match throughout. The loss, combined with Saudi Arabia's victory, eliminated Yemen.
In Seoul, South Korea, Jung Jo-gook scored three goals, while Seol Ki-hyeon and Cho Jae-jin added two each to pace the Red Devils rout over Taiwan.
Seol and Jung scored in consecutive minutes to put the Koreans ahead 2-0 by the fourth minute and they repeated their feat just before halftime, scoring in the 43rd and 44th minutes, to increase the lead to 4-0.
The victory left South Korea with 10 points atop Group B, two better than Iran and six ahead of Syria. A draw at home with Syria on Oct. 11 would clinch South Korea's place in the finals.
In Damascus, Syria, Iran got a goal from Mohammad Nosrati in the 27th and an insurance tally from Javad Nekounam in the 51st to move closer to qualification.
A victory at winless Taiwan in its next match on Oct. 11 would clinch its berth.
In Group C, first-half goals by Imad Ali, Fawsi Basheer and Ismail Al Ajmi had Oman ahead 3-0 by halftime and another pair of goals completed the victory in Muscat, Oman.
Oman has a five-point lead over Jordan in Group C for the final berth, but it plays UAE at home next before travelling to Jordan for its qualifying finale.
In Kuwait, Khalaf Al Mutairi and Bader Al Mutwaa scored three minutes apart early in the second half as Kuwait bolstered its chances of a fourth straight trip to the finals. Australia tops the group with six points, two better than Kuwait.
The Kuwaitis are three points ahead of Bahrain, which has two games remaining, including a Nov. 15 finale at home against Kuwait.
