Razak goal gives Qatar first win

Mohamed Razak’s second-half strike snatched a 3-2 win for Qatar here yesterday and left Indonesia rooted to the foot of their World Cup qualifying group. Uruguay-born Cristian Gonzales got both of Indonesia’s goals in the first half but the home side had no answer to Razak’s winning score on 59 minutes, which helped Qatar climb to second spot behind Iran in Group E.Iran, for their part, thrashed Bahrain 6-0 in a hopelessly one-sided encounter in Tehran to maintain their supremacy in the group with seven points from three matches. Qatar have five points, with one win and two draws.At a rain-soaked Bung Karno Stadium, both Qatar and Indonesia played aggressive football with Qatar’s Abdulaziz al-Sulaiti getting the first goal in the 13th minute. Indonesia responded with a goal from Gonzales, who exploited a goalkeeping fumble. Khalfan Ibrahim restored Qatar’s lead on 32 minutes but Gonzales was again on hand to level the scores with his second strike two minutes later. However, Razak’s score near the hour-mark was to prove decisive and left Indonesia contemplating their likely elimination from the qualifying process with zero points from three games. Indonesia has never qualified for the World Cup finals and the team’s record is poor. The country of 240mn population is currently 139th in the FIFA rankings. Qatar, who had earlier drawn with Bahrain and Iran, will play Indonesia in Doha next on November 11.Meanwhile, Japan trounced hapless Tajikistan 8-0 and Australia looked sure to progress after a 3-0 win over Oman kept them on maximum points in Group D. South Korea also moved towards the last stage with a 2-1 win against UAE. Thailand held Frank Rijkaard’s Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw, but North Korea’s hopes of reaching a second World Cup in a row suffered a setback with a 1-0 home loss to Uzbekistan.