The Hindu : Sport / Football : North Korea beats Thailand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 09, 2004

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Sport - Football

North Korea beats Thailand

SEOUL, SEPT. 8. North Korea beat Thailand 4-1 on Wednesday in a Group 5 Asian World Cup qualifier played at the Yanggakdo Football Stadium in Pyongyang.

North Korea and Thailand are in Asian qualifying Group 5 along with the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

In Taipei (Taiwan), Salih Salih scored two goals and Sa'ad Hafidh and Younes Khalef one as an Iraqi team that almost won bronze in Athens beat Taiwan 4-1 in a Asia Zone Group 2 qualifying match.

The Iraqis dominated the first half, scoring at the 4th minute when Salih kicked one in from just close from the goal as a light drizzle fell. He scored another two minutes before the half.

The Iraqis won the hearts of many fans with a gritty Olympic campaign that put them in the final four after a stunning 4-2 upset over medal-contender Portugal. They finished the games in fourth place after losing to Italy 1-0 in the bronze medal match.

The Taiwanese took more risks in the second half, but Iraq scored again in the 75th minute when an unmarked Hafidh tapped the ball in during a chaotic scramble in front of the goal.

Taiwan finally struck back at the 82nd minute when the ball hit forward Huang Wei Yi in the face in front of the goal and rolled in.

Iraq scored its last goal at the 86th minute, when Khalef headed the ball in close to the goal line.

The results:

In Taipei: Group 2: Iraq bt Taiwan 4-1. In Seoul: Group 5: North Korea bt Thailand 4-1. In Hanoi: Group 7: South Korea bt Vietnam 2-1. — AP

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