Iraq, Thais triumphant in World Cup qualifying

Iraq and Thailand were comfortable winners in Asian World Cup qualifying on Tuesday, while North Korea laboured to a 1-0 home victory over Tajikistan to get their first points on the board. Bahrain ran out 2-0 winners over Indonesia in Jakarta, Sayed Dhiya Saeed Ebrahim on 45 minutes and Abdulatif Ismaeel on 72 doing the damage for the away side. It is a long road to Brazil 2014 for many of Asia's sides with the latest action, the third round of qualifying, taking in five groups of four teams. Former Asian Cup winners Iraq beat Singapore 2-0 away in Group A but wasted several chances in a foul-tempered match that concluded in a row between players and officials from both benches. Newly appointed Iraq coach and Brazilian legend Zico had lamented his side's propensity to squander goalscoring chances, and it was more of the same at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Iraq pressured the Singapore goal from the start, laying siege for long periods, but wayward finishing and determined defending kept the scoreline level at half-time. Iraq's persistence finally paid off in the 49th minute when forward Ala'a Abdulzehra put them ahead with a bullet header that beat keeper Lionel Lewis. Lewis, a replacement for injured goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, pulled off a string of vital saves to prevent Singapore going further behind. But Iraq put the game to bed in the 85th minute after a seemingly innocuous chip by prolific Iraqi striker Younus Mahmood sailed past a rooted Lewis and bounced into the goal. The result means Singapore drop to last place in the standings as the only team with no points in the group, putting their World Cup hopes in serious jeopardy. "It's tough losing two games but it's not over. I think our boys have still got fight in them and we will not give up," said Singapore team manager Eugene Loo. China play away in Jordan later Tuesday. In Bangkok, Thailand were easy 3-0 winners over Oman to get their qualification campaign back on track, but North Korea put in a disappointing display as they edged out the Tajiks in Pyongyang. A solitary Pak Nam-Chol goal was enough to give the hosts their first win in the third qualifying round. Uzbekistan play home to Asian giants Japan in Group C later Tuesday. The winners and runners-up of the five groups will be drawn into two pools for the round-robin fourth stage, with the eventual top two in each section earning a ticket to Brazil. The two third-placed teams will then face each other for the right to contest an intercontinental play-off.