Iran opened up a two-point lead in Asia’s Group A with a 2-1 win over archrival Iraq in Baghdad on a Ali Daei goal in the 84th minute. Bahrain fell out of a tie for first with a 1-1 tie at home with Thailand. In Group B, China remained unbeaten with a 1-1 tie at Qatar on a last-minute goal by Li Wei Seng, but its lead is down to one point after Uzbekistan buried Oman, 5-0. Group A RESULTS Sept. 7 in Baghdad Iraq 1 (I.Mohamed 20) Iran 2 (Karimi 30, Ali Daei 84). Sept. 6 in Manama Bahrain 1 (Al-Dousari 17) Thailand 1 (Senamuang 64). Sept. 1 in Bangkok Thailand 0 Iran 0. Aug. 31 in Manama Saudi Arabia 1 (O. Al-Dossary 45) Iraq 0. Aug. 24 in Manama Iran 2 (Daei pen. 54, 64) Saudi Arabia 0. Aug. 23 in Manama Bahrain 2 (Yosuf 58, Al-Kawari 81) Iraq 0. Aug. 17 in Riyadh Saudi Arabia 1 (O. Al-Dossari 82) Bahrain 1 (Salmeen 18). Aug. 17 in Bahgdad Iraq 4 (H.Mohammed 23, 76, L.Mohammed 70, Hussien 84) Thailand 0. STANDINGS
| TEAM | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| Iran | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Bahrain | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Iraq | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Thailand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
SCHEDULE Sept. 14 Iran-Bahrain Sept. 15 Thailand-Saudi Arabia Sept. 21 Bahrain-Saudi Arabia Sept. 22 Thailand-Iraq Sept. 28 Iraq-Bahrain Saudi Arabia-Iran Oct. 5 Iran-Thailand Iraq-Saudi Arabia Oct. 12 Iran-Iraq Oct. 13 Thailand-Bahrain Oct. 19 Bahrain-Iran Saudi Arabia-Thailand
Group B RESULTS Sept. 8 in Tashkent Uzbekistan 5 (Irismetov 17, 73, Shatskikh pen. 38, Kasymov 50, 67) Oman 0.
Sept. 7 in Doha Qatar 1 (Al Noobi 31) China 1 (Li Wei Seng 90).
Aug. 31 in Muscat Oman 0 China 2 (Qi Hong 26, Fan Zhiyi pen. 40).
Aug. 31 in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 0 Qatar 2 (Khalifa 65, Nasser Ali 71
Aug. 26 in Tashkent Uzbekistan 2 (Irismetov 36, Kasymov 50) Qatar 1 (Al-Tamimi 88).
Aug. 25 in Beijing China 3 (Li Xiaopeng 4, Qi Hong 20, Hao Haidong 34) UAE 0.
Aug. 17 in Abu Dhabi UAE 4 (Salem 21, Hareb pen. 33, Ali 44, Bakhit 85) Uzbekistan 1 (Shirshov 37).
Aug. 16 in Doha Qatar 0 Oman 0.
STANDINGS | TEAM | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | P |
| China | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Uzbekistan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Qatar | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| UAE | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Oman | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
SCHEDULE Sept. 14 Oman-UAE Sept. 15 China-Uzbekistan Sept. 21 Oman-Qatar Sept. 22 Uzbekistan-UAE Sept. 27 UAE-China Sept. 28 Qatar-Uzbekistan Oct. 4 Qatar-UAE Oct. 7 China-Oman Oct. 13 Oman-Uzbekistan China-Qatar Oct. 19 UAE-Oman Uzbekistan-China
