AFC
Kuala Lumpur
Nine teams will confirm their places in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan Finals on Sunday.
The winners of the nine groups that will conclude on Sunday will join Uzbekistan in the Finals while the teams that finish as runners-up will have a fair indication on whether they will progress despite Group H – consisting Australia, Iraq, India and Kuwait – only to be decided in October.
Playing in Arad (Bahrain), Qatar will go in as favourites despite Bahrain having home ground advantage when the two teams square off in the Group B decider.
Qatar have been in impeccable form in the Qualifiers, registering three wins with
12 goals scored and only one conceded.
Bahrain, on the other hand, were held 0-0 by Bangladesh before defeating Nepal 6-0 and Bhutan 2-1 to sit two points behind their West Asian rivals.
A win on Sunday, however, will take Bahrain through and they will surely be motivated to achieve victory on home soil.
On Friday, Qatar defeated Bangladesh 3-0 to make it three consecutive wins, while Bahrain earned a tough 2-1 win over Bhutan.
Qatar have a two-point lead over Bahrain, with the two teams to face off on Sunday to decide the group winners.
Ahmed Alrawi starred with a hat-trick as Qatar defeated Bangladesh 3-0 to stay perfect.
Qatar, who defeated Nepal and Bhutan in their earlier games, dominated the first half with Alrawi finding the target in the 22nd minute.
The Al Rayyan SC defender doubled Qatar’s tally at the hour mark before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of added time. It proved to be tough but Bahrain ultimately secured a2-1 win over Bhutan to set up a must-win encounter against Qatar.