Qatar's Jassem Gaber vies for the ball with Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Khoshimov during yesterday's match.
Pakhtakor: Uzbekistan defeated Qatar 6-0 to book their spot in the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 quarter-finals yesterday.
The 2018 champions produced a sizzling show before their adoring fans at the Pakhtakor Stadium as they advanced with a match to spare, as they added to the 1-0 win over Turkmenistan on Matchday One to assure themselves of top spot in Group A.
Uzbekistan's Jasurbek Jaloliddinov who stole the spotlight inside the opening four minutes.
The unmarked Uzbek captain raced down the pitch before letting loose a crackling strike from outside the box that deflected off the inside of the upright and into the net, leaving Qatar goalkeeper Salah Zakaria stunned and the home supporters wild at the Pakhtakor Stadium.
In the 20th minute, Erkinov collected Abubakir Ashurov’s long-range cross into the final third, and the Pakhtakor midfielder Hojimat Erkinov displayed his skill in dribbling past the Qatari defence before beating Zakaria with his strike from an acute angle.
Backed by a huge turnout at the Pakhtakor Stadium, Uzbekistan kept at it and eventually found their third in first half added time following a swift counter-attacking move, with an unstoppable Erkinov quickly picking himself up following a Yousef Ayman tackle to continue surging down the pitch before finding Norchaev, who had the simple task of tapping home to make it 3-0.
Qatar had a brighter start to the second half, but opportunities were few and far between, with their best chance coming in the 52nd minute when Yusuf Abdurisag got on the end of a series of passes in the box, but could only force a parry from goalkeeper Abduvakhid Nematov.
Norchaev and Khoshimov were a formidable pair, and the duo threatened at the hour-mark with Zakaria spilling Norchaev’s effort, with Khoshimov converting the loose ball with ease.
Norchaev was at the heart of the action again just three minutes later, this time forcing an error from Ayman to put Uzbekistan five goals up, before substitute Ruslanbek Jiyanov further punished Qatar with an incredible strike past Zakaria in the 67th minute.
Qatar have to defeat Turkmenistan on Tuesday to keep their hopes alive, while Uzbekistan face Islamic Republic of Iran, who also need a win after falling 2-1 to Turkmenistan earlier yesterday.
