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SAITAMA, Japan -- Japan and Iran showed Sunday why they are amongthe favorites in Asian qualifying to advance to the 2014 World Cup. Ryoichi Maeda and Shinji Okazaki scored second-half goals to leadJapan to a 3-0 victory over Oman in the first round of the finalqualifying stage, while Iran stunned Uzbekistan 1-0 with a goal inthe dying seconds of stoppage time. In other matches, 2022 World Cup host Qatar beat Lebanon 1-0 andJordan held Iraq to a 1-1 draw in a clash of Middle East neighbors. Maeda gave Japan a 2-0 lead in the 52nd minute of the Group B matchwhen he received a pass from Shinji Kagawa, ran to his left andslid the ball under the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Ali AlHabsi. Okazaki, who plays for German side Stuttgart, put the result beyonddoubt 3 minutes later, gathering his own rebound and beating AlHabsi from close range. CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda opened the scoring in the 12thminute, taking a superb cross from Inter Milan defender YutoNagatomo and beating Al Habsi with a left-footed shot. This was an important win for us, Japan coach AlbertoZaccheroni said. We wanted to get off on the right foot. The teamwas able to stay focused the entire match and there was a greatatmosphere here tonight. The top two teams in both of the five-team qualifying groups willsecure an automatic spot at Brazil. The third-place teams advanceto a playoff. Honda missed the entire third round of qualifying with a kneeinjury. He returned to the national side in a friendly againstAzerbaijan last month for the first time since scoring in a 3-0 winover South Korea last year. It's been a while since I scored, Honda said. I was aiming toget us on the score sheet and I think scoring early allowed us torelax and play our game. Japan and Australia will be strong favorites to advance out ofGroup B. Japan is seeking its fifth straight appearance at theWorld Cup. Oman, without key defender Hussain Mudhaffar and striker HassanRabee'a, rarely tested Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. In Tashkent, Mohammad Reza Khalatbari scored in stoppage time togive Iran a 1-0 win at Uzbekistan. Substitute Karim Ansarifardbroke down the right before passing to Khalatbari, who found thenet in the fourth minute of added time. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Electric Plug Adaptor , Wall Ventilation Fan Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Specialty Wire and Cable today!
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