Qatar out of championship as Iran advance Lewis Hamilton

Manama : Defending champions Qatar lost their title in ongoing AFC U-19 Football Championship, being held in Bahrain following a heavy 0-3 loss to Japan.

This was Qatar’s maiden defeat in the competition after a 1-1 draw with Iran and a late 1-0 victory over Yemen earlier meant they finished in third place in Group C after the completion of the group stage round-robin.

Yuto Iwasaki fired in the first goal in the 14th minute to give Japan the lead, then Koji Miyoshi made it 2-0 on 45 minutes and Takehiro Tomiyasu sealed Qatar’s fate with a third goal in the 62nd minute.

It was Japan’s second win in this four-team nation group and finished top of the group with seven points. 

Japan qualified for the quarter-finals alongside group runners-up Iran, who climbed from third to second with five points, just one ahead of Qatar.

Iran booked their place after a tough 1-0 win over Yemen, thanks to a 45th minute strike from Abolfazl Razzaghpour.

In Group ‘C’, Vietnam held Iraq to a goalless draw to clinch the group’s other quarter-final slot. 

The result saw Iraq top the group with seven points, two ahead of second-placed Vietnam and three above third placed UAE.

The UAE failed to qualify despite a come-from- behind 3-1 win over North Korea, who took the lead through skipper Kwang Song Han after eight minutes, but Ahmed Rashid equalised for the UAE in 30th minute, then Faisal Al Matroushi gave the UAE  a 2-1 lead in the 52 minute and Jassim Yaqoub sealed the points with his team’s third in the 76th minute.

Today schedule: Group D: (7.30pm):