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| Thursday, October 18, 2001 22:03 EST |
China beats Oman for Cup berth
[Associated Press]
Bora Milutinovic has done it again -- this time with China, which
will be playing in its first World Cup.
The globe-trotting Yugoslav coach is headed to his fifth World
Cup with his fifth team. He coached China to a 1-0 win over Oman on
Sunday in the Chinese city of Shenyang, sparking widespread
celebrations.
Milutinovic's World Cup resume features Mexico in 1986, Costa
Rica in 1990, the United States in 1994 and Nigeria in 1998.
The United States also qualified Sunday as Joe-Max Moore scored
twice to help the United States beat Jamaica 2-1. Moore's second
goal came on a penalty kick in the 81st minute.
On Saturday, six European nations won spots in next year's
tournament: England, Russia, Italy, Croatia, Denmark and Portugal.
They joined Poland, Spain and Sweden.
Champion France has automatic entry as do hosts South Korea and
Japan. Argentina, Costa Rica, South Africa, Cameroon, Senegal,
Tunisia and Nigeria also have qualified.
China midfielder Yu Genwei, filling in for suspended top scorer
Qi Hong, scored in the 35th minute.
While calling the victory the happiest moment in his career,
Milutinovic sounded a sober note on the team's chances next year.
"Everybody here knows that China is not a strong team," he
said. "Asia is rather backward in soccer. And other Asian teams
performed not so well in the World Cup finals."
In Beijing, revelers poured into the cold night to celebrate
with strings of banned firecrackers, air horns, bells and whistles.
Young people who watched the game on TV outside bars in the
Sanlitun nightlife district swarmed into an intersection near the
main soccer stadium.
Tens of thousands of others swarmed toward Tiananmen Square in
the city's heart, paralyzing traffic. At Beijing University,
students rallied, singing the national anthem and chanting "Long
live China."
In other North and Central America and Caribbean region games,
Trinidad and Tobago beat Honduras 1-0 and Costa Rica and Mexico
played to 0-0 draw.
In Europe, it was: Sweden 3, Azerbaijan 0; Slovakia 5, Macedonia
0; and Bosnia 5, Liechtenstein 0.
Eight European teams on Saturday were sent to the playoffs, with
Germany the most surprising. As a three-time World Cup champion,
Germany has never missed the World Cup and now must beat Ukraine.
The runners-up in the nine European groups play each other,
except for Ireland. The Irish face the tough prospect of an Asian
qualifier, probably Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates. Belgium
will play the Czech Republic and Slovenia will play Romania.
The first leg is Nov. 10 and the second Nov. 13.
One playoff spot has yet to be determined. Austria or Israel
will face Turkey. Israel and Austria were to play Sunday in Tel
Aviv, but the game was postponed for security reasons. A new date
has not been set.
The Asian qualifying competition does not end until Oct. 31.
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