A dominant Chinese team Saturday showed no mercy to rival Qatar, dispatching it 3-0 and eliminating the Gulf team's chances of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

And Uzbekistan's chances of claiming a valuable group runners-up spot in the Asian qualifying round for the 2002 World Cup took a huge blow as it threw away a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 to Oman in Muscat. The result virtually guarantees the United Arab Emirates will finish second to China in Group B. Tini Ruijs' side now needs only a point in its final match next week against the Omanis to move into the playoff against the second-placed side in Asia's Group A, either Iran or Saudi Arabia. The winner of that playoff will face the Republic of Ireland for a place at next year's finals in South Korea and Japan. In Shenyang, another capacity crowd at Wulihe Stadium continued China's week-long celebrations after it qualified for the first time for the World Cup finals by defeating Oman last week. Oman, which had scored just once in its previous six games, rediscovered its goal-scoring touch as a brace from Yacoub Juma and a goal each from Fouzi Bashir and Badr Al Mahrooqi sent the Uzbeks to their fourth defeat of the campaign. Vladimir Salkov's Uzbek team had taken the lead through Fezi Daletov after just five minutes and an own goal by Nabil Ashoor just before the half-hour mark looked to have sealed victory for the Uzbeks. But seven minutes after halftime, the teams were level and the Uzbeks then let it slip away. An electrical fire at Bangkok's Rajmangala National Stadium caused the match between Thailand and Bahrain to be stopped as Bahrain led 1-0. It will be replayed.