16 Asian national teams are currently playing the AFC U19 Championship at Bahrain (October 13-October 30). During the Matchday 2, Iraq and Uzbekistan booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Group A : South Korea 6 pts, Saudi Arabia 3 pts, Bahrain 3 pts, Thaïland 0 pts
After beating Thailand few days ago, South Korea earned their second successive win as they beat tournament hosts Bahrain (2-1). The South Koreans can thank Young-Wook Cho who netted a brace during the last minutes of the game.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia hammered Thailand (4-0). This result means the Thais are already eliminated from the competition.
Group B : Iraq 6 pts, Vietnam 4 pts, United Arab Emirates 1 pt, North Korea 0 pt
Led by Waleed Kareem, the tournament top scorer with 3 goals, Iraq thrashed North Korea (4-0) and book their place in the quarter-finals. In the other game of the group, Vietnam earned a 1-1 draw against United Arab Emirates thanks to Ho Minh Di who scored a wonderful goal into the top corner.
Group C : Japan 4 pts, Qatar 4 pts, Iran 2 pts, Yémen 0 pt
Japan and Iran shared the spoils (0-0) : it was a frustrating game for the two teams as both sides hit the crossbar during the game. Meanwhile, Qatar join Japan at the top of the group as they earned a crucial win against Yemen (1-0) thanks to Abdulrasheed Umaru, who scored the winning goal with 7 minutes remaining.
Group D : Uzbekistan 6 pts, Tajikistan 3 pts, Australia 3 pts, China 0 pt
Uzbekistan are the second team to secure a quarter-final spot as they earned their second win a row against Australia (3-2). Doston Ibrokhimov was the man of the match as he netted two beautiful goals !With this defeat, Australia are now third in the Group D table as Tajikistan easily beat China (2-0).
REMINDER : the top four teams of the final tournament will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup
Amayes Brahmi - Follow @AmayesB
Credits Photo : The AFC