A day of international matches in early March gave the World
Cup teams a chance to prepare for next summer's tournament, but did not produce
many surprises, while the Asian Cup qualifiers reached its conclusion.
Greece hosted and lost 2-0 to South Korea and Iran lost
their lofty position in the rankings with a disappointing 2-1 defeat at home to
Guinea while Egypt salvaged some pride after failing to qualify for the World
Cup finals by beating Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-0 in Austria.
Several teams not involved in the upcoming World Cup also
took to the field. Swaziland were triumphant 1-0 in Lesotho and Zimbabwe
hammered their hosts Malawi 4-1 while Comoros held Burkina Faso to a 1-1 draw
in France.
Among the Asian Cup qualifiers Lebanon thumped Thailand 5-2
in Bangkok and China lost 3-1 to Iraq in the U.A.E, while Qatar were held to a
goalless draw by their visitors from Bahrain.