DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Asian champion Iraq was eliminated from qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, losing to Qatar 1-0 today.

Sayd Ali Bechir scored in the 77th minute for Qatar, heading in a pass from Hussain Abdulrahman, who made a run up the left flank. Iraq needed only a tie to advance.

"This is a very sad day for us," Iraq coach Adnan Hamad said. "We had our chances, but we simply failed to take them."

Australia and Qatar (both 3-2-1) advanced from Group One to the 10-nation fourth round of Asian qualifying with 10 points apiece. Iraq (2-3-1) was third with seven points and China (1-2-3) last with six.

Qatar defeated 2-0 in Doha on March 26.

"Having beaten them once before, the team was confident of repeating the act today," Qatar coach Jorge Fossati said. "Many of their players play in the Qatar League, and we knew what to expect from them"

The United Arab Emirates clinched the final berth in Group Five. Bahrain, Iran, Japan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan previously clinched spots in the Asian finals.

The remaining teams will be drawn into two groups of five, which will each play a double round-robin. The top two teams in each group qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, along with the winner of a home-and-home playoff between the third-place teams.