Malaysia beats Indonesia in heated World Cup qualifier
Mohamadou Sumareh scored in the seventh minute of injury time to give Malaysia a 3-2 win over neighboring rival Indonesia on Thursday in a game that had to be temporarily halted because of crowd trouble, as the second round of Asian World Cup qualifying got underway.
Malaysia had to come from behind twice to level the scores before the game was suspended for several minutes late in the second half because of clashes between fans from the two countries — who have a heated soccer rivalry. Video footage showed some supporters running onto the track surrounding the pitch, apparently trying to get to opposing fans.
When the game restarted, Sumareh met a low cross for a close-range finish deep into stoppage time.
Rabia Al-Mandhar also scored in injury time as Oman stunned India 2-1, while Mongolia and North Korea both picked up wins.
Sunil Chhetri gave India the lead midway through the first half but Al-Mandhar equalized in the 83rd minute before curling in a right-footed shot to decide the Group E match.
Mongolia, ranked 187th in the world and playing in the second round of qualifying for the first time, beat Myanmar 1-0 in Ulaanbaatar. Amaraa Dulguun scored the lone goal in the 17th minute of the Group F match.
North Korea defeated Lebanon 2-0 in Group H with Jong Il Gwan scoring both goals in Pyongyang, while Thailand and Vietnam drew 0-0.
The winner of each of the eight groups and the four best second-place teams will advance to the next round.