Syria moved into first place in Group One of Asian qualifying for next
year's World Cup, routing Laos 11-0 Monday.
Oman, which like Syria is 3-0, beat the Philippines 7-0.
Syria, which has outscored opponents 28-1, is first on goal difference over
Oman, which has a 26-0 goalscoring margin. The two play in Syria on May 18 in
Oman on May 25. The Philippines and Laos, both 0-3, have been eliminated.
At Damascus, Sayed Bayazed scored four goals and Muhammad Afash scored
twice. At Muscat, Yacoub Gomaa scored four times and Hani el-Dabet added two
goals.
The group winner joins Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
Uzbekistan in the 10-nation Asian finals, which will produce two qualifiers for
next year's tournament in Japan and South Korea.
In meaningless Group Seven games at Amman, Uzbekistan tied host Jordan 1-1
and Turkemistan beat Taiwan 1-0.
TUzbekistan (4-0-2) had clinched first place last Saturday. Turkmenistan
(4-2) finished second, followed by Jordan (2-2-2) and Taiwan (0-6), which was
outscored 25-0.
AP NEWS
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