Qatar, Japan, Uzbekistan make their way to knockouts

ABU DHABI - Qatar made an easy 6-0 win over Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan snatched a 1-0 victory over Oman and Uzbekistan beat Turkmenistan 4-0 on Sunday, making their way to the knockout round of 16 in the ongoing AFC Asian Cup 2019 hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Qatari forward Almoez Ali bagged his four goals in the 9th, 11th, 55th and 60th minutes of the one-sided match while his teammates, defenders Boualem Khoukhi and Abdelkarim Hassan, scored the other two on 43 and 68 minutes respectively.

With the overwhelming victory, the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts lead Group E with six points, a clean net and goal differential in two winning games, while Saudi Arabia comes second with equal six points.

Qatar are set to confront Saudi Arabia on Thursday to determine who will top Group E, with both having their seats already booked in the knockouts at the expense of DPR Korea and Lebanon.

In Group F, four-time champions Japan made a narrow 1-0 win over Oman, as midfielder Genki Haraguchi's first half penalty paved the Samurai Blue's way for the knockout phase.

It was Japan's second match in the group stage after it stole a 3-2 win over Turkmenistan last week.

Excluding penalty shootouts, Sunday's victory extends Japan's record of only losing once in their last 30 games at the AFC Asian Cup; They were beaten by Saudi Arabia in the 2007 semifinals.

Japan will play their final match on Thursday with current Group F leader Uzbekistan, who just hammered Turkmenistan 4-0.

In their match with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistani midfielder Javokhir Sidikov broke the deadlock with a goal in the 17th minute and forward Eldor Shomurodov bagged a brace in the 24th and 42nd minutes, and Jaloliddin Masharipov scored in the 40th minute.

Despite losing their first two games, DPR Korea and Lebanon of Group E, and Oman and Turkmenistan of Group F, will have to do their best to win their final group stage fixtures to retain a ray of hope to advance as the best third-place finishers.

Run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and extended to feature 24 teams, the 17th edition of the quadrennial AFC Asian Cup is running from January 5 to February 1.

The top two teams from each of the six groups, plus the best four third-placed finishers, will advance to the round of 16 knockout stage.