UAE stagger into Asian Cup quarterfinals

UAE stagger into Asian Cup quarterfinals

ABU DHABI (Agencies): An unimpressive United Arab Emirates
qualified for the Asian Cup quarterfinals when they beat
Indonesia 2-0 in their final Group A match here yesterday

Goals from Hassan Ahmed and Adnan Al Talyani ensured that it
was the end of the adventure for Indonesia, who were playing in
their first ever Asian Cup finals.

The UAE went on the attack from the kick-off and the Indonesia
defence, missing regular goalkeeper Kurandi Sandi out with a
broken nose and suspended full back Agung Setyabudi were clinging
on for dear life.

Meanwhile in Al-AIN, holder Japan fired a warning to its Asian
Cup challengers with a sparkling 4-0 win over Uzbekistan Monday.

China, defeated by Uzbekistan in an earlier group C qualifier,
revived its chances by beating Syria 3-0.

Japan has now joined Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals. China
and Uzbekistan are separated only by goal difference and
contesting the other place from the group.

Japan plays China and Uzbekistan faces Syria in the final
group matches tomorrow.

Title favorite Japan was on top throughout and well worth its
victory over a team which won the Asian Games crown two years
ago.

Promising youngster Masakiyo Maezono scored two late goals.
His first came from a 20-meter free kick. His second, in injury
time, was a jam. Running on to a chip from substitute Yasuto
Honda, he flicked the ball over advancing Uzbek keeper Bugalo
Pavel and then placed it into an open goal.

Japan's top player Kazuyoshi Miura showed glimpses of his
magic and scored his first goal of the tournament. He headed home
from close range in the 37th minute after Pavel parried a shot by
Takuya Takagi.

Hiroshi Nanami had given Japan the lead in the seventh minute,
pouncing on a loose ball outside the penalty area and unleashing
a 25-meter drive.

Ma Mingyu opened China's scoring in the 34th minute in
spectacular fashion. With Syrian defenders backing off, he ran
with the ball 10 meters before unleashing a 30-yard shot into the
top right corner.

Substitute Gao Feng made it 2-0 four minutes after coming on
for the second half. He ran on to a through ball from Peng
Weiguo, rounded the Syrian keeper and hit the net with a shot
from a tight angle.

China went close to breaking the deadlock twice a few minutes
before but was thwarted by a fine save from Syrian keeper Salem
Bitar followed by a header off the line.

Second half substitute Gao Feng silenced the Syrian crowd when
he scored in the 49th minute. He ran on to a through ball from
Peng Weiguo, rounded the Syrian keeper and hit the net with a
shot from a tight angle.

The Chinese continued to have more of the ball and could have
increased its lead in the 65th minute when Su Maozhen's free
header from six meters out was saved by Bitar.

But China's substitute Li Bing finally beat Bitar with a
similar header from a cross from the right in the 72nd minute.

Syrian striker Ali Dib had a flick cleared off the line by Fan
Zhiyi in the 77th minute.

Results:
Japan 4 Uzbekistan 0
China 3 Syria 0

Standings:
Japan 2 2 0 0 6 1 6
China 2 1 0 1 3 2 3
Uzbekistan 2 1 0 1 2 4 3
Syria 2 0 0 2 1 5 0