Brazil won their third consecutive match at the Nongfu Spring World Cup on Thursday to boost their chance of qualifying from the group phase.
Igor Figueiredo and Itaro Santos saw off Malaysia 4-1 and now have 13 points in Group B. Scotland and Belgium both have 14 points but they play each other in the final group match on Friday, which means that Brazil will reach the quarter-finals if they can beat Hong Kong 4-1. The top two in each group go through.
“We are very happy and proud to represent our country and to be doing well,” said Santos, who won the Pan-American Championship this year.
England’s 5-0 win over UAE moved them up to second place in Group D and means that another 5-0 win, over the Republic of Ireland in their last group match, would guarantee them a quarter-final spot. Anything less and their fate will depend on the results of leaders China B against Germany and third-place Thailand against UAE.
England’s Mark Selby said: “We’ve played well since our opening defeat and we’ve given ourselves a chance, going into the last match. In this format anyone can win.”
Ireland are just one point behind England following a 4-1 defeat of Germany. Ken Doherty said: “We would have liked to win 5-0 today, we have a lot to do tomorrow now. We’re just gutted that we didn’t have our cues for our opening match as that had a big impact on our chances. It’s an exciting format and we look forward to the challenge of playing England.”
Home favourites China A continue to impress as their 5-0 thrashing of Norway means Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong have 18 points from a possible 20. They need just one frame tomorrow against third-placed Malta. India’s 3-2 win over Malta today lifted them to second.
A 4-1 win for Wales over Northern Ireland brought their total to 17 points so Mark Williams and Michael White need just one more point against Australia tomorrow to be sure of their progress. Australia’s target is to get at least as many points as Northern Ireland score against Pakistan.
For all results and group tables see www.worldsnooker.com/world-cup-group-tables