Japan end Qatar's World Cup hopes

Japan [ Images ] ended Qatar's faint hopes of a place at the 2010 World Cup with a 1-1 home draw in an Asian 2010 qualifier on Wednesday.

The Japanese had already booked a spot in the South Africa [ Images ] tournament by beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in Tashkent last weekend.

They went ahead after just three minutes in Yokohama courtesy of an own goal from Ahmed Ali Albinali but Qatar equalised through an Ali Yahya penalty in the 53rd minute.

The visitors needed to win to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup via a playoff spot.

South Korea and Australia [ Images ] have also qualified with one automatic spot remaining for Asian sides.

Japan play Australia in Melbourne [ Images ] in their final Group One fixture on June 17.