Bhutan pulls off World Cup shock
Print Edition
THE Himalayan kingdom ranked rock bottom in world soccer spirited another improbable win yesterday as Bhutan reached the second round of World Cup qualifying.
Lying 209th in FIFA’s rankings, Bhutan proved last week’s 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in Colombo was no fluke with a 2-1 victory in the return leg in its capital Thimpu.
The tiny nation had allowed workers to leave early to catch the game, and the Changlimithang Stadium was packed to witness the heroics.
Chencho Gyeltshen set the hosts on their improbable path in the fifth minute and fired in the second at the death to ensure only a fifth ever win for his side which was once beaten 0-20 by Kuwait in an Asian Cup qualifier in 2000.
Bhutan was making its debut in World Cup qualifying since joining FIFA in 2000.
India joined Bhutan in advancing to the next round of the road to Russia 2018 with a 0-0 draw in Kathmandu for an aggregate 2-0 win over Nepal.
Lowly East Timor followed up its 4-1 success over Mongolia last week with a 1-0 win in Ulaan Baatar thanks to a 9th-minute strike by Patrick Fabiano.
Cambodia made last week’s 3-0 home victory count against China’s Macau to progress after a 1-1 draw in the return leg.
Brunei, ranked 198th and the second lowest in Asia, had made yesterday’s home leg free for fans to attend after defeating Chinese Taipei 1-0 away. But Wang Ruei’s strike in the 37th and a goal from Chu En-le just after the break gave the visitors a 2-0 win for a 2-1 aggregate.
Pakistan’s World Cup qualifier at home to Yemen was postponed and will be switched to a neutral venue after Sunday’s suicide bombings at two churches killed 14 people.
Its opponent had already arrived in Lahore for the match after beating Pakistan 3-1 in the first leg which was played in Doha, Qatar, due to security concerns in Yemen.
The six aggregate winners will move into the second round of the Asian World Cup campaign, which doubles as the qualifiers for the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup, where the likes of Japan, Australia and Iran enter the fray.
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