Asian Cup qualifying Group A Review

Japan wrapped up a successful Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Bahrain at Toyota Stadium.

With both sides already assured of qualification, Shimizu S-Pulse striker Shinji Okazaki opened the scoring in the first half before CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda sealed top spot in Group A in stoppage time.

Former Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, fresh from his recent return to Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos following a disappointing spell in Spain with Espanyol, provided the cross for Okazaki to head home at the far post after 36 minutes in Aichi Prefecture.

Japan continued to dominate after the break and Honda failed to convert Nakamura's cross from close range in the opening minutes of the second half.

The home side had to survive a scare as Bahrain striker Ismaeel Latif raced to latch onto Salman Isa's cross but just failed to provide a crucial touch.

But three minutes into added time Honda met Atsuto Uchida's cross as Takeshi Okada's side bounced back from a much-criticised performance in last month's East Asian Championship.

"Before the game, I told our players to show the people their winning attitude as I wanted them to focus on the game," said Okada.

"Considering the fact that we had only two days to prepare for this game, I think we did so well. It's our first time to beat Bahrain by two goals."

In Hong Kong, the hosts picked up their first point of the campaign with a goalless draw against Yemen.

Asian Cup qualifying Group D Review

Syria sealed top spot in Asian Cup qualifying Group D following a 4-0 rout of Lebanon at Al-Abbasiyyin Stadium.

Having already booked their ticket to Qatar next January, the hosts were looking to overhaul China at the top of the table with three points and that is exactly what they did as goals from Mohammad Al Zino, Abdulfatah Al Agha, Jehad Al Hussien and Abdul Razak Al Housain were all on target to maintain their unbeaten record.

Al Zino fired past Lebanon goalkeeper Larry Mehanna from the edge of the area to open the scoring after just four minutes before Al Agha doubled the lead six minutes later with a first-time finish from Wael Ayan's right-wing cross.

Syria extended their lead shortly after the interval when Mehanna failed to hold a long-range strike from Al Hussien before Al Housain completed the scoring on the hour mark when the substitute burst into the Lebanon box and beat Mehanna with a cool finish.

North Korea qualify for Asian Cup

World Cup finalists North Korea qualified for next year's Asian Cup after edging out Turkmenistan to win the Challenge Cup.

Goalkeeper Ju Kwang-min saved Arslanmyrat Amanov's sudden death penalty to seal a 5-4 win for 10-men North Korea after a 1-1 draw after extra-time at Sugathadasa Stadium.

Ryang Myong-il's first half dismissal halted DPR Korea's strong start as Turkmenistan took instant advantage as Berdy Shamuradov's strong run and shot broke the deadlock after 32 minutes.

But despite their numerical disadvantage North Korea continued to dominate and deservedly equalised as Ryang Yong-gi headed home with 14 minutes remaining.

In the shoot-out, Mamedaly Karadanov hit the crossbar for Turkmenistan to hand North Korea's Ri Chol-myong the chance to claim victory but the midfielder blazed wide.

Begli Nurmuradov kept Turkmenistan in the contest at 4-4, but in the first round of sudden death Ri Kwang-hyok confidently converted before Ju beat away Amanov's rising effort.

Coach Jo Tong-sop, who is also part of the full national team set-up, insists "five or six" of his squad will be part of North Korea's side in South Africa later this year, while Ryang Yong-gi boosted his chances by topping the goalscoring charts with four goals in five games and also claiming the most valuable player award.

Earlier, Numondzhon Khakimov's spectacular first-half strike helped former champions Tajikistan beat Myanmar 1-0 to claim third place and automatically qualify for the 2012 Challenge Cup alongside North Korea and Turkmenistan.

Yemen 3-0 Bahrain

An Ali Al-Nono brace helped Yemen to a 3-0 win over Bahrain in a 2011 Asian Cup qualifier at Ali Mohsen Al-Muraisi Stadium.

Al-Nono struck in the fifth and 25th minutes before substitute Mohammed Al-Abidi rounded off the victory with a goal four minutes from time as Bahrain lost for the first time in five qualifiying matches.

The result, however, is inconsequential with Bahrain having already secured their place at the Asian Cup finals in Doha.

They are level with leaders Japan in Group A with 12 points, while Yemen are third in the standings with six.

Yemen made an ideal start as Al-Nono headed home a cross from Khaled Baleid before stunning the visitors further with a second midway through the first half, neatly chipping the ball over Bahrain goalkeeper Abbas Ahmed.

Bahrain attempted to reduce the deficit as Husain Ali headed just wide from Husain Salman's free-kick before the striker saw an effort cleared off the line by Zaher Farid.

The visitors best chance of second half came soon after the hour mark when Ismail Abdullatif struck a powerful effort from distance that Yemen goalkeeper Salem Awadh did well to deny.

Yemen wrapped up the three points, however, with a third in the 86th minute when second-half substitute Al-Abidi struck with a first-time shot from Sami Karama's cross.