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Uzbekistan Beat China 1-0 in World Cup Qualifier
The dying minute goal by Nikovlay Shirshov gave Uzbekistan a 1-0 victory over China in the last match of the Group B in the World Cup Asian qualifying tournament in Tashkent tonight.
Although China lost the match, the country has already secured a berth for the World Cup finals next year with 19 points from six wins and one draw before today's match.
The United Arab Emirates, which had collected 10 points, added one more crucial point today after drawing Oman 2-2 in another game in the same group. The draw settled the UAE the second place of the group, one point more than Uzbekistan.
Besides the group winner, the runner-up of Group B can qualify only when it beats the runner-up of Group A and the Ireland team from Europe. Except hosts Japan and South Korea, Asia has 2.5 berth for the 2002 World Cup finals.
Fighting for the second place with the UAE, Uzbekistan featured all of its key players against China. If the UAE lost to Oman tonight, Uzbekistan could wind up second with a big win over China.
With the ticket already in hands, China, the clear winner among the five teams, saved six of its key players at home and sent seven substitutes for today's game.
Though head coach Bora Milutinovic sent a relatively weak line- up, the Chinese performed very well in the first half.
The Chinese team threatened its rival's goal four times while the Uzbekistan missed two golden chances to score.
Uzbekistan, which lost to China 2-0 in an away match last month, realized they still had hope to make the finals after the UAE trailed Oman 2-1 after the first half in another match started at the same time.
But the Chinese refused to give in. Their tight defence denied several attacks from their rivals and the game appeared to head to a goalless finish.
With 30 seconds to wind up the game, Shirshov received a pass from Mirdjalal Kasimov and didn't hesitate to blast the ball into the left low post.
The late victory didn't save Uzbekistan's fate because the UAE managed to level Oman 2-2 in another game to book the second place.
All the competitions in Group B wrapped up tonight, but the runner-up in Group A is yet to be decided.
Qatar captured nine points to finish fourth ahead of Oman, 6 points in Group B. It is the first time for China to qualify for the World Cup finals in 44 years.
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