Koreas finish all square as Aussies begin with a win

ABU DHABI: Bitter rivals DPR Korea and South Korea fought out a 1-1 draw in the latest round of final Asian 2010 World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday while Australia got its campaign off to a winning start.

The Aussies handed Uzbekistan a 1-0 defeat in Tashkent thanks to a rare international goal from Scott Chipperfield - playing only his second international in 19 months - as it bid to reach its second successive finals.

The Uzbeks hopes of reaching the finals for the first time look remote after two successive defeats as do those of the UAE - they lost to DPR Korea in its opening match at the weekend - after it let a 1-0 lead slip, ending up losing 2-1 to Asian giant Saudi Arabia.