Uzbekistan secure quarter final berth

Manama : Uzbekistan yesterday secured a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC U-19 Championship. This is their second consecutive win in Group ‘D’, after beating Australia 3-2 at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town.

Goals from Doston Ibragimov (39th minute and 46th) and Bobir Abdixolikov (28th) guided the Uzbeks to a hard-fought victory and a spot in the competition’s final eight.

They are now on six points from two matches, with one game remaining against China.

Liam Youlley (64th) and George Blackwood (90th) scored for the Aussies who edged China 1-0 in their opening match, while Tajikistan kept their quarter-finals hopes alive by beating China 2-0. Ehsoni Panshanbe (3rd) and Nuriddin Hamroqulov (65t) were on target for the Tajiks, who now share with Australia second place with three points each.

Their clash on the concluding day of the group stages will decide the team to join Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.

Tournament action continues today with the deciding matches in Group ‘A’ as all four teams – South Korea (6 points), Saudi Arabia (3), hosts Bahrain (3) and Thailand (0) will battle it out for the two quarter-finals spots.

“Bahrain are in second place now, so we know we have to win and everyone will have to work hard to go through. We will try to help our players, not only tactically but we have to bring our players up again,” said Bahrain coach Abdulaziz Abdo.