Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
West Bank: Rasul Yuldoshov’s second hat-trick of the qualifiers helped Uzbekistan to defeat Yemen 5-2 on Sunday and book their place at the AFC U-16 Championship having won all three games to top Group A with a 100% record.
Yuldoshov, who hit a treble in the 8-0 win over the Maldives before being an unused substitute in the next game against Palestine, scored his fourth of the campaign with 23 minutes at the Faisal Al Husseini Stadium played.
Mohammed Al Hamdani pull Yemen level in the 35th minute but parity was short-lived with Uzbekistan skipper Abubakir Muydinov restoring his side’s advantage just two minutes later.
Shukhrat Nemetov extended the lead with four minutes of the first half remaining before two goals in a two-minute spell from Yuldoshov, (67th, 69th) made it 5-1 to the Uzbeks and took the young forward to the top of the qualifying goalscoring table alongside Korea Republic’s Park Jeon-gin.
Yemen had the final say in the scoring stakes but Murad Murshed’s strike one minute into second-half stoppage time was a mere consolation as Luciano de Abreu’s side had to settle for second place behind the undefeated Uzbeks.
Palestine, meanwhile, ended their qualification campaign on a positive note as three goals in a blistering nine-minute spell early in the first half saw the Group A hosts defeat the Maldives 3-0 and finish third in the standings.
Ahmed El Eyan put Palestine a goal to the good with 11 minutes at the Arab-American University Stadium played before the forward scored his second and the West Asians’ third in the 18th minute, just 60 seconds after Ahmed Aburdaha had doubled Palestine’s advantage.
The first half was to end on a sour note for the Palestinians, however, with defender Suhail Yahya sent off a minute into stoppage time although it didn’t affect the outcome of the match as the Maldives were unable to make their extra-man advantage count in the sec on half.
Eleven group winners and four best second-placed teams will join India in next year’s finals, with the tournament hosts receiving an automatic qualification. Should India finish top of their qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the fifth best second-placed nation will qualify for the final competition.