Saudi Arabia took revenge for its only defeat in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, routing Uzbekistan 4-0 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Sunday. Abdu Atef gave the host early lead while Malek Al-Hawsawi made it 2-0 before the break. Saad Al-Harthi scored the third before Al-Hawsawi sealed the win for the Saudis. The match was important for Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan to decide the group leader. The win put the Saudis on top of Group D with 15 points while Uzbekistan sits second on goal difference. Saudi Arabia, which lost 3-0 in their first-leg match, was in front six minutes into the match when Atef made no mistake on an excellent pass from Saad Al-Harthi. The visitors launched several attacks after the goal in search of an equalizer but in vain. Al-Hawsawi made the situation more difficult for them when he doubled the Saudi lead in the 37th minute on a pass from Mohammed Al-Shalhoub. The Uzbeks stormed the Saudi goal a number of times after the break but Saudi goalkeeper Mansour Al-Najai did well to deny them. Al-Harthi made it 3-0 in the 56th minute when he lobbed the ball over Uzbek keeper. Al-Hawsawi scored his second and the team's fourth goal through a long shot three minutes from time to put the score beyond any doubt. Ten teams have secured tickets to the final round where they will be divided into two groups with two teams in each group advancing to the 2010 World Cup Finals. The two third-place teams will face off in a two-leg playoff. The winner of the playoff then meets the winner of the Oceania qualifying zone again in a two-leg playoff with the winner earning a berth at the 2010 World Cup. UAE, Qatar thru Qatar and the United Arab Emirates grabbed the remaining places in the final round of World Cup qualifiers with late goals in their decisive matches on Sunday. Qatar kept alive its dreams of reaching the Finals and buried those of Iraq when Sayd Ali Bechir scored with a header 13 minutes from time to clinch the second qualifying spot behind Australia. The UAE's passage to the final round also went to the wire, with Ismail Matar's 80th-minute spot kick putting it through on goal difference at the expense of part-timer Syria. They join North Korea, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Australia and recent World Cup regulars Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Iran in the final round of qualifiers. A freak 89th-minute goal from Atsuto Uchida in rain-soaked Saitama gave Japan a 1-0 win over Bahrain and the overall Group B victory, while China finished off its failed campaign on a high with a surprise 1-0 win over Australia. Iran beat Kuwait 2-0 to win Group E and South Korea topped Group C after a dour 0-0 draw with fierce foe North Korea. Oman took third place in Group B after a 2-1 win over bottom side Thailand. Jordan beat Turkmenistan 2-0 and Singapore sunk Lebanon 2-1 to finish third in Group D. – With input from Agencies __
