MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Son Heung-min scored his 50th international goal on Thursday as South Korea beat Kuwait 3-1 to take a big step toward an 11th successive World Cup appearance.
The Tottenham forward converted a penalty to make it 2-0 in the 19th minute and help South Korea earn a fourth successive win in Group B of Asia’s World Cup qualifiers to move five points clear at the top with five games to go.
Oh Se-hun headed in South Korea's opener in the 10th minute and Son, who had just returned from a hamstring injury, extended the advantage after being fouled in the area. Mohammed Daham pulled a goal back with a spectacular strike with 30 minutes remaining but Bae Jun-ho sealed the win for the visitors.
”(Son is) such an important part of our team,” South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo said. “He just came back after being hobbled by injury.”
Jordan and Iraq stayed in second and third place on eight points after drawing 0-0 in Basra while Oman is now two points behind after defeating the Palestinian team 1-0.
In Group A, Iran defeated North Korea 3-2 in Laos to move onto 13 points, three clear of Uzbekistan which lost 3-2 at Qatar. The 2022 World Cup host stayed in fourth with seven points, level with the United Arab Emirates which defeated Kyrgyzstan 2-0.
In Group C, Australia and Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 in Melbourne after the visitors had a late goal disallowed when Sultan Al-Ghannam’s low shot from just inside the area was ruled out for offside, denying a win win for Herve Renard, the second-time Saudi coach who replaced Roberto Mancini last month.
“I have to see it once again to be sure that they made the best decision," Renard told reporters. "So I will not comment about this.”
Australia was initially awarded a penalty after 12 minutes when Mitch Duke went down under a challenge from Saudi goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar but VAR ruled the foul was outside the area.
Saudi Arabia, like Australia aiming for a seventh World Cup appearance, went closest with a shot from Nasser Al-Dawsari forcing a save from Joe Gauci at the near post.
There were fewer opportunities in the second half, the best falling to Australia six minutes from the end. In a two-on-one situation inside the area, Riley McGree’s goal-bound shot was blocked by Saud Abdulhamid.
Both teams remained level on six points from five games and are joined by China, which defeated Bahrain 1-0 with an injury-time goal from Zhang Yuning. Leader Japan will move seven points clear if it can defeat Indonesia in Jakarta on Friday.
Only the top two of six in each group will qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup. The third- and fourth-place finishers will advance to the next stage.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
