India hammers Brunei

India hammered bottom-placed Brunei 5-0 in their final pre-World Cup football qualifier here today but failed to take the second spot in the Asian Zone Group-8.

Virtually toying with their point-less minnows, India scored at regular intervals with goals coming from Dias Alberto Jules Claudio (12th minute), I M Vijayan (23rd), Baichung Bhutia (35th), Jo Paul Anchery (59th) and Abdul Hakim (76th).

But Sukhwinder's boys narrowly missed the second spot despite overwhelming their opponents today.

Already eliminated India needed to win by a six-goal margin today at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to push Yemen to the third slot, as the UAE had last week claimed the lone qualifying spot emerging as Group leader with 12 points.

With both Yemen and India ending up with 11 points, today's verdict gave Yemen the second spot in the Group by virtue of scoring more goals (14) compared to India's (11).

Brunei finished last in the four-nation Group 8, failing even to score a single goal in their six matches.