North Korea, Thais and Oman move clear in Asia qualifying

Singapore's Faris (11) celebrates a goal against Cambodia with teammates during their 2018 World Cup Group E qualifying soccer match at the National Stadium in Singapore October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - North Korea, Thailand and Oman took advantage of the absence of Asia's elite to storm clear in their World Cup qualifying groups with victories on Tuesday.

With the top seeds across the eight joint Asian Cup qualifying groups sitting out the sixth matchday, the region's unfancied sides boosted their chances of grabbing one of the 12 places on offer for the next stage of the Road to Russia 2018.