Saudi Arabia, China book AFC U-22 spots
Saudi Arabia and China were just two of five teams to book their places at the AFC U-22 Asian Cup in Saturday's round of qualifiers.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
The Saudi Arabians, fired by a hat-trick from Mohammed Majrashi, cruised to a 7-0 win over Sri Lanka at the King Fahd International Stadium to make it four wins from four in Group B.
They will now fight it out for top spot with Syria, who also kept up their 100% record with a 4-0 victory over Pakistan, while Palestine and Kyrgyzstan played out a 0-0 draw.
Over in Group F, China could only manage a 1-1 draw against Thailand but it proved enough for them to progress to the finals.
The Thais went ahead in the 56th minute through BEC Tero Sasana midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin, but China salvage a crucial point five minutes into injury-time when Zhang Xizhe found the back of the net.
The Chinese can still finish top if they manage to beat Korea DPR in their final group game, after the North Koreans edged ahead with a 3-0 win over Cambodia.
In the group's other game, Laos beat bottom side Hong Kong 2-0 thanks to goals from Sihavong Khonesavanh and Vilayout Sayyabounsou.
There is still plenty to play for in Group A after Iraq's 1-1 draw with Oman allowed United Arab Emirates to pull level with them at the top of the table with a 4-3 triumph over Lebanon.
Both teams currently have ten points with a game left to play, while India, who beat Turkmenistan 4-1, and Oman are both just three points behind.
Finally, Korea Republic became the first team to qualify from Group G after a 10-0 win over Philippines at the Thuwunna Stadium.
Second-placed Myanmar, who defeated Chinese Taipei 6-2, need at least a draw in their final group game against Malaysia to follow the South Koreans through to the finals.
The Malaysians recorded a 3-0 win over Vietnam on Saturday courtesy of a Rozaimi Abdul Rahman hat-trick to keep alive their qualification hopes and set up Tuesday's do-or-die clash with the Burmese.
Saturday's AFC U-22 Asian Cup Qualifying Results
Group A
India 4-1 Turkmenistan
Lebanon 3-4 United Arab Emirates
Iraq 1-1 Oman
Group B
Sri Lanka 0-7 Saudi Arabia
Syria 4-0 Pakistan
Palestine 0-0 Kyrgyzstan
Group F
Cambodia 0-3 Korea DPR
China 1-1 Thailand
Hong Kong 0-2 Laos
Group G
Vietnam 0-3 Malaysia
Myanmar 6-2 Chinese Taipei
Philippines 0-10 Korea Republic