has left Arizona with eight healthy scholarship players. Tri

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Despite boasting one of the worlds highest-spending domestic leagues, Chinas dreams of automatic qualification for the 2018 World Cup are fading.China coach Gao Hongbo quit on Tuesday after a 2-0 defeat in Uzbekistan left his team with just one point from four games in Asias last round of World Cup qualifying.I spoke with the heads of the Chinese Football Association before the match and we agreed if we couldn`t reach a positive result against Uzbekistan I would stand down from my post, Gao said.Marat Bikmaev and Otabek Shukurov scored a goal each in Tashkent as Uzbekistan outclassed China, which lost 1-0 at home to Syria five days previously. China has only ever appeared at one World Cup, in 2002.Despite the poor record on the international stage, there has been massive investment in Chinese soccer in recent years.Clubs in the Chinese Super League have spent more than $400 million on foreign players in 2016 alone. South American stars such as Hulk, Alex Teixeira, Ramires and Jackson Martinez have helped Shanghai SIPG, Jiangsu Suning and Guangzhou Evergrande challenge in the domestic competition and in the Asian Champions League.High-profile coaches including Luiz Felipe Scolari, Sven Goran Eriksson and Manuel Pellegrini have also lifted the international profile of the league.Yet despite the massive investment from the private and public sector -- the government is also focusing on youth development -- the standard of the national team will take longer to improve.Nations such as Syria and Iraq, which are not allowed to play games at home because of security concerns, have collected more points in qualifying so far.There are still six games remaining in the round, including one next month when China hosts Qatar, meaning the Chinese team still technically has time to qualify. But with unbeaten Iran leading the group with 10 points, one clear of Uzbekistan and three ahead of South Korea, the chances of China qualifying for Russia 2018 appear to be remote.The top two of the six teams in Groups A and B will qualify automatically for the World Cup, with the two third-place teams going to a fourth-round match to decide which of them makes the intercontinental playoffs.Here are other results on Tuesday:----AUSTRALIA 1, JAPAN 1A second-half penalty from Mile Jedinak earned Australia a draw against Japan in Group B, though the Socceroos drop into second spot in Group B, two points behind leader Saudi Arabia.Genki Haraguchi had put Japan ahead in the sixth minute after a mistake from the Australian backline, but the Hertha Berlin forward gave away a penalty early in the second half with a push on Tomi Juric.We expected a reaction from ourselves and thats what we got, Jedinak said. Second half we were a bit more patient, our movement was better and we put them on the back foot.The draw is Australias second in a row, following a 2-2 result against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, and leaves the Socceroos unbeaten with eight points from four games. Japan has seven points.I think it was two points lost, Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic said. But we played well and had chances to win.---SAUDI ARABIA 3, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 0Saudi Arabia moved to the top of Group B with an emphatic win in Jeddah.Fahad Al Muwallad broke the deadlock with 17 minutes remaining and shortly after Nawaf Al Abed added a second.Yahya Al-Shehri scored in injury time for Bert Van Marwijks men. The win takes the four-time World Cup participants to 10 points, two clear of Australia.United Arab Emirates is fourth in the group with six points, one point behind Japan.---IRAN 1, SOUTH KOREA 0,A first-half strike from Sardar Azmoun gave Iran victory over South Korea in Tehran to move to top of Group A with 10 points.Azmoun, 21, scored goal number 16 in just his 22nd appearance for Iran, which dominated the game in front of almost 100,000 fans at the Azadi Stadium.South Korea, aiming for a ninth successive appearance at the World Cup, is third in the group with seven points.---QATAR 1, SYRIA 0In Doha, Qatar picked up its first points in Group A with a 1-0 win over Syria.Hasan Al Haydos scored the only goal of the game with a penalty in the 37th minute.Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, has three points and climbs off bottom place in the group above China. Syria is fourth with four points.---IRAQ 4, THAILAND 0Mohannad Abdulraheem scored all four goals as Iraq beat Thailand for its first points in Group B.Abdulraheem scored two goals in each half against a team that finished with 10 men after Koravit Namwiset was sent off with 20 minutes remaining.Thailand has lost all four of its group games. Custom Gilbert Arenas Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Wholesale Custom Wizards Shirts . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. http://www.customwizardsjersey.com/ .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Authentic Custom Wizards Jersey .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Gilbert Arenas Jersey Large .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. LAS VEGAS -- With six new players donning a Butler uniform this season, coach Chris Holtmann isnt sure what to expect from his Bulldogs.Some have labeled this season as a rebuilding year. Holtmann shrugs it off with a wait-and-see attitude.He may not have to wait any longer, as his Bulldogs showed plenty of resolve Friday night in a 69-65 victory over No. 8 Arizona in the championship game of the Continental Las Vegas Invitational.Kelan Martin had 16 points, while Andrew Chrabascz had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Butler (6-0), while Avery Woodson contributed 13 points, Kamar Baldwin had 11 and Tyler Wideman had eight rebounds.Chrabascz was named MVP of the tournament.Its too early to tell what this years going to look like, but what we know is weve already had some good moments this year, said Holtmann, who is in his third season at Butler. Time will tell. Were just trying to kind of grow as a team and figure that out.This was really important for us, because we had some shaky moments for sure in that game. I think our guys found their composure at the right time, and we played well in stretches. But I think Arizona did too. I give them a lot credit, theyre a good team and really well-coached. Its a quality win for us.The Wildcats, who fell behind by as many as nine points with 14 minutes to play, used a 15-2 run to regain momentum to get back in the game before Butler made a final run down the stretch.Freshmen Lauri Markkanen and Kobi Simmons led Arizona (5-1) with 15 and 14 points, respectively.Trailing by four points late, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run, highlighted by Widemans dunk with 29.3 seconds left that gave Butler a 65-63 lead. His ensuing free throw made it 66-63.Both Holtmann and Chrabascz said there was never any sign of panic on the Bulldogs part, even when the Wildcats were ahead by five with 3 minutes left.We just said lets just find a way to do what we do and hope it works -- it was as simple as that, Holtmann said. Players make plays, and they did. We told them to move the ball offensively, we did a little bit of a defensive switch late, we just really focused them on the possessions at hand.Chrabasczs layup with 1:38 left cut Arizonas lead to two, and moments later two free throws by Baldwin tied the game at 63-all, leading up tto Widemans go-ahead dunk.ddddddddddddThe Bulldogs set themselves up with momentum at the close of the first half, when Sean McDermott took a pass on the run from Tyler Lewis, and banked in a soft jumper high off the glass to give Butler a 36-34 lead.After Arizona tied the game at 38-all less than 2 minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to move ahead 49-40 and seize control of the tempo. The momentum shift visibly frustrated the Wildcats, who committed five turnovers inside the first 7 minutes of the second half.BIG PICTUREArizona: With time to regroup after a rugged start to the season, the biggest question remains when Allonzo Trier will make his season debut. The sophomore guard did not travel to Las Vegas with the Wildcats, and hes now missed the teams first six games for unspecified reasons. His absence has left Arizona with eight healthy scholarship players. Trier averaged 14.8 points as a freshman.Butler: The Bulldogs received 14 votes in last weeks poll, but after knocking off Arizona to remain undefeated, one must wonder if theyve done enough to make their first appearance in the Top 25. Three of Butlers six wins have come against Power 5 Conference teams: Northwestern (Big Ten), Vanderbilt (SEC) and Arizona (Pac 12).POLL IMPLICATIONS: With the loss, the eighth-ranked Wildcats will likely drop out of the Top 10. Arizona has been ranked in the Top 25 for 81 consecutive weeks, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Kansas (145 weeks). Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Wildcats have spent 60 of those weeks ranked in the Top 10.TURNING POINT: While it was Widemans dunk that gave Butler the lead again, the key moment came with a little more than 3 minutes to play, when Markkanen fouled out, leaving Arizona without its key presence in the paint. Going into the game, the 7-footer from Finland led the team with 18.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.UP NEXTArizona: The Wildcats wont play again until Nov. 30, when they return to the McKale Center to host Texas Southern.Butler: The Bulldogs have little time to rest, as they head to Salt Lake City for a Nov. 28 date with Pac 12-member Utah. ' ' '