DUBAI — Tiny Guam beat Turkmenistan 1-0 to record its first ever World Cup qualifying victory, while the Philippines surprised Bahrain 2-1 as the second round of Asia's preliminaries for Russia 2018 began Thursday. An own-goal by Serdar Annaorazov in the first half gave Guam a 1-0 victory.
Annaorazov's own-goal in the 14th minute at the GFA National Training Center was all the host needed to earn three points in Group D.
Guam, a United States territory with a population of less than 200,000, was playing in its first home World Cup qualifier. The Pacific Island's last World Cup campaign was in 2000 when it was routed 16-0 by Tajikistan and 19-0 by Iran. Guam will next host India on June 6 before traveling to Iran for a match on Sept. 3. In Group B, Anton Zemlianukhina scored two first-half goals to lead Kyrgyzstan to a 3-1 win over Bangladesh in Dhaka. Edgar Bernhardt also scored a penalty for the visitors.
Elsewhere, Sufuwan Baharudin scored twice to lead Singapore to a 4-0 win over host Cambodia in Group E. Amri opened the scoring just nine minutes in at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh and Baharudin made it 3-0 with two goals before the break. Fazrul Shahul completed the scoring 10 minutes into the second half.
Myanmar's Kyaw Zayar Win equalized five minutes from full time to force a 2-2 draw against host Laos in Group G. Zaw Min Tun's 41st-minute strike kept Myanmar ahead until Laos struck twice in the space of three minutes through Khampheng Sayavutthi in the 81st and 83rd minutes before the late equalizer.
In Group H, the Philippines beat Bahrain 2-1. Substitute Misagh Bahadoran opened the scoring in the 50th minute and Javier Patino doubled the lead 10 minutes later. Bahrain scored a consolation goal in injury time through Abdulwahab Al-Malood.
In Group C, Hong Kong routed Bhutan 7-0 at Mongkok Stadium with Jaimes McKee scoring twice on either side of halftime.
Oman downed India 2-1 in Bangalore after dominating a match it could have won by a greater margin.
Before the 19,000-plus crowd had time to settle into their seats at the Kanteerava Stadium, Qasim Said capitalized on a defensive lapse to drill the ball through goalkeeeper Subrata Paul's legs in the opening minute.
India equalized 25 minutes later when Sunil Chetri's spectacular curling left-footer from inside the box hit the inside of the post on its way into the net.
Oman was soon dictating terms again and Amad Al-Hosni put it ahead when he converted a 40th-minute penalty.
In other matches, Thailand beat Vietnam 1-0; Malaysia played out a 1-1 draw with East Timor; Jordan beat Tajikistan 3-1; Kuwait edged Lebanon 1-0; and Syria routed Afghanistan 6-0.
Only the eight group winners in the 39-team stage are guaranteed a place in the next round. The second round of Asian World Cup action also doubles as qualification for the 2019 Asian Cup. — Agencies
