BEIRUT: Thailand are on the verge of elimination after losing 5-2 at Lebanon last night for their second defeat in as many games in the Asian Cup qualifying round.
Lebanon raced to a 3-0 lead in the first half with goals from Hassan Chaito after six and 22 minutes and Mohamad Haidar in the 31st.
Teerasil Dangda cut the deficit to 3-1 four minutes after the interval only for Hassan Maatouk to restore a three-goal lead for the hosts in the 73rd minute.
Thitiphan Puangjan reduced the gap to 4-2 after 86 minutes but Abbas Atwi made it 5-2 shortly after that.
Having suffered a 3-1 home loss to Kuwait in their opening game, Thailand are bottom of Group B, while Lebanon have three points. Iran and Kuwait, with three points each, will meet on Tuesday.
The top two teams of each of the five qualifying groups plus the only best third-placed side advance to the 2015 finals in Australia.
Thailand will next travel to Iran in October.
Last night's match could be Winfried Schaefer's last assignment as coach of Thailand as reports claimed the German would be sacked if his men failed to get a result in Beirut.
In Changsha, a dramatic stoppage-time winner earned China a 1-0 win over 10-man Iraq yesterday, igniting their Asian Cup qualifying campaign and throwing a lifeline to embattled boss Jose Antonio Camacho.
In the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, Chan Wai-ho was the hero as he pounced in the 87th minute to earn the hosts a 1-0 victory over Vietnam and put them provisionally top of Group E.
And Malaysia's Khyril Muhymeen ensured the third home win of the night when he completed a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Yemen with 10 minutes left on the clock.
In appalling, rain-soaked conditions in the south-central city of Changsha, substitute forward Yu Dabao struck from close range in the third minute of added time to earn the hosts their first points in Group C.
The result boosts Chinese hopes of reaching their 11th consecutive finals in Australia, and also ends a run of six games without a win for Camacho's team.BANGKOK POST/AFP
