Nawaf Al-Abid scored twice from the penalty spot Tuesday to give Saudi Arabia a 2-1 win over Iraq in World Cup qualifying. Al-Abid scored in the 81st and 88th minutes to put Saudi Arabia, coached by former Netherlands boss Bert van Marwijk, in first place in Group B with six points. Mohanad Abdulraheem scored for Iraq with a low shot in the 18th. Iraq, which also lost in Australia, is still searching for a first point after two matches. The game was played in Malaysia because of security issues in Iraq. The brace takes Al-Abid's tally to three late penalties in Saudi Arabia's two games after he hit the 84th-minute winner from the spot in last week's 1-0 victory over Thailand. China's World Cup hopes brightened when it held Iran 0-0 and group rival South Korea slipped up in an embarrassing stalemate against war-ravaged Syria. Defeat to Asia's top-ranked side would have dented China's hopes of reaching only its second World Cup but in the end it was a close game in Shenyang. China's point, its first of Asia's final qualifying round, keeps it in touch with the leader in six-team Group A, where the top two will win an automatic spot at Russia 2018. Its cause was also helped by South Korea's travails in Malaysia, Syria's temporary 'home' base, as it missed out on what had seemed like a certain three points. Elsewhere Japan got back on track with a 2-0 victory over Thailand which helped erase bad memories of last week's controversial 2-1 upset against United Arab Emirates. China has only ever reached one World Cup, in 2002, but qualifying for Russia 2018 would be a significant statement for a country which aims to become a global football power. South Korea will be kicking itself after its slip-up against Syria in Seremban, Malaysia, denied it the chance to seize control of Group A. Son Heung-Min missed the game to return to his club, Tottenham Hotspur, and coach Uli Stielike may regret letting him go after a toothless performance with just two shots on target. In Bangkok, Takuma Asano bounced back from last week's disallowed goal controversy as he hit Japan's second in the 2-0 win over Thailand which ignited its qualifying bid. In the late matches: Australia beat the United Arab Emirates 1-0; Bhutan drew with Bangladesh 0-0; Uzbekistan stunned Qatar 1-0; and Maldives thrashed Laos 4-0.
