10 Nov 2019
Doha, 9 November 2019. Qatar U19 national football team made up of Aspire Academy student athletes and graduates notched up a second win as many games with a 4-1 win over Turkmenistan in the qualifying campaign for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championship. The matchday 2 encounter was played at Aspire Academy outdoor pitches on Friday 8 November and now sets up a group decider as Qatar and Yemen clash on Sunday 10 November with both sides on same points after two wins each.
Qatar who beat Sri Lanka (5-1) in the opening match of Group B head into the final game with a +7-goal difference while Yemen boasts a +4 difference. Qatar team captain Naif Abdulraheem Al Hadhrami and striker Mekki Tombari each scored twice after a goal-less first half to consign Turkmenistan to a second loss after they lost 2-1 to Yemen in their opening match.
Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan complete their matches also on Sunday with both teams now out of the running for reaching the AFC U-19 Championship to be held in Uzbekistan next year 2020, (October 14- 31). The qualifiers tournament was divided into two geographical regions: West (West Asia, South, and Central) with 25 teams in six groups and the East (East Asia and ASEAN) with 21 teams in five groups.
The final 2020 AFC U-19 Championship in Uzbekistan will be the 41st edition and comprised of 16 teams made up of the 11 group winners from the qualifiers plus hosts, Uzbekistan and the 4 best runners-up from the qualifiers.