XIAMEN, China (AP) — Japan is within touching distance of an eighth straight World Cup appearance after a 3-1 win over China on Tuesday put the team nine points clear of second-place Australia, which drew 2-2 with Bahrain, in their Asian qualifying group.
Despite beating China 7-0 at home in September, it took Japan 39 minutes to break the deadlock in Xiamen with a Koki Ogawa header. Ko Itakura added a second before halftime.
Home fans grew hopeful when Lin Liangming scored early in the second half but Ogawa headed home his second soon after.
The Samurai Blue have 16 points from six games, with four to go in Group C. Australia is next with seven points after Kusini Yengi scored in the 96th minute to earn a dramatic draw for the Socceroos in Bahrain.
The Portsmouth forward opened the scoring in the first minute but two second-half goals from Mahdi Abduljabbar put the hosts in sight of a famous victory before Yengi’s late intervention. Bahrain is one of four teams on six points along with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China.
Indonesia stunned Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jakarta. A goal in each half from Marselino Ferdinan, who plays for Oxford United in England’s second tier, nailed down a famous victory for the Southeast Asian nation which last appeared at the World Cup in 1938 as Dutch East Indies.
“Indonesia deserved to win this game,” Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard said. “We have four games left and it will be tough but it will be tough for everybody.”
It was a first ever win for Indonesia in the third round of qualification.
“I am so proud of my team and the country,” goalkeeper Maarten Paes said. “Marselino scored two great goals and we defended so well. We knew that this was an important game and, to get a win, that gives us so much confidence. It is so close in our group.”
In Group B, South Korea stays top despite being held to a 1-1 draw by the Palestinian team in Amman, Jordan. Zaid Al Qanbar opened the scoring after 12 minutes though Son Heung-min soon found the target to keep South Korea on course for an 11th straight World Cup with 14 points.
Iraq is three points behind in second after a 1-0 win in Oman and Jordan’s 1-1 draw with Kuwait takes the team onto nine.
In Group A, Iran won 3-2 in Kyrgyzstan to move onto 16 points, three clear of Uzbekistan who took a big step toward a first World Cup by edging North Korea 1-0.
United Arab Emirates routed Qatar 5-0 — Fabio Lima scored four goals — to move onto 10 points.
The top two from each of the three groups of six progress automatically to the World Cup while the six teams who finish third and fourth will advance to the next stage of qualification.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Indonesia's Rizky Ridho Ramadhani, 5, battles for the ball against Saudi Arabia's Marwan Al Sahafi during their 2026 World Cup Asian 3rd round qualifier soccer match at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Indonesia's Marselino Ferdinan, 7, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the 2026 World Cup Asian 3rd round qualifier soccer match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia nursing student Laken Riley texted and called her mom as she headed out for a run to see whether she had time to chat — but then didn't respond to her mother's calls or increasingly frantic text messages.
Riley called her mother at 9:03 a.m. on Feb. 22, and by the time her mother called back about 20 minutes later, the student had encountered Jose Ibarra on a wooded running trail at the University of Georgia, according to trial testimony. Prosecutors said Ibarra killed Riley after a struggle, and data from Riley's smartwatch shows her heart stopped beating at 9:28 a.m.
After Riley failed to answer the phone, her mother, Allyson Phillips, texted her several times, casually at first but then with increasing concern, according to data pulled from Riley's phone.
At 9:37 a.m., her mother texted, “Call me when you can.” Phillips called twice, and when her calls went unanswered, she texted her daughter at 9:58 a.m., “You’re making me nervous not answering while you’re out running. Are you OK?" Phillips texted again at 11:47 a.m., writing, “Please call me. I’m worried sick about you.” She and other family members continued to call Riley.
Phillips cried in court as the text messages were read aloud by Georgia police Sgt. Sophie Raboud, who examined data from Riley's phone. Raboud also testified about video from surveillance cameras near the wooded trail, and Phillips and some other family members and friends cried as video played showing Riley running on the trail the morning of her death.
Ibarra, 26, is charged with murder and other crimes in Riley’s death in February, and his trial began Friday. He waived his right to a jury trial, meaning the case will be decided alone by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday afternoon after calling more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Riley's roommate and a woman who lived in an apartment with Ibarra to testify. The judge then asked Ibarra if he wants to testify and he said no.
The killing added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case. Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Atlanta.
Surveillance video also showed a man who prosecutors say is Ibarra walking around an apartment complex where a female graduate student said someone tried to get into her apartment and peered in the window early the day Riley was killed. The man is seen going up to the door of that apartment six times over a period of roughly an hour, twice opening the outer screen door, Raboud testified.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lucas Breyer testified about reviewing the body camera video from the officer who found Riley's body in the woods. He testified that her clothes were “heavily manipulated,” describing the waistband of her running tights as having been pulled down some and her jacket, shirt and sports bra having been pulled way up.
Dr. Michelle DiMarco, a GBI medical examiner, conducted the autopsy of Riley's body and testified that Riley had injuries, including scrapes, bruises and cuts, to her head, neck, torso, abdomen, left hand and left leg. Her injuries included eight cuts to her head, including one that fractured her skull, DiMarco said.
Prosecutors have said that Ibarra hit Riley in the head with a rock and DiMarco said the injuries “could be consistent with a rock.” A GBI specialist testified Riley's DNA was found on two rocks at the scene. The DNA specialist also said that Riley's DNA and Ibarra's DNA were both found on a jacket that was retrieved from a trash bin at Ibarra's apartment complex.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross said during her opening statement that Ibarra had gone out “hunting for females” that morning in February and that he killed Riley after a struggle when she “refused to be his rape victim.” Law enforcement officers have testified there was no evidence that Riley was sexually assaulted.
Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening that Riley’s death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing. But he said there is not sufficient evidence to prove that his client killed Riley.
Throughout the prosecution's case, defense attorneys have asked questions of witnesses that seem designed to create doubt by suggesting that Ibarra's brother Diego could not be excluded as a suspect.
Riley’s parents, roommates and other friends and family packed the courtroom Friday and again Monday and Tuesday.
From left, Connolly Huth, roommate of Laken Riley, and Lauren Phillips, Riley's younger sister, become emotional during the trial for Jose Ibarra at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
A hat allegedly belonging to Jose Ibarra is presented as evidence during the trial for Ibarra at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Prosecutor Sheila Ross speaks during the trial for Jose Ibarra at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
From left, Connolly Huth, Lauren Phillips and Sofia Magana become emotional during the trial for Jose Ibarra at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
CORRECTS DATE Prosecutor Sheila Ross speaks while holding an evidence bag during the trial for Jose Ibarra at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
CORRECTS DATE Jose Ibarra appears at his trial at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Jason Riley, center, Laken Riley's father, listens during the Jose Ibarra trial at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Allyson Phillips, mother of Laken Riley, second left, listens during the trial of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Prosecutor Sheila Ross's responds to Judge H. Patrick Haggard during the trial of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard speaks during the trial of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
Jose Ibarra pays attention to a witness during his trial at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
