Dubai: The UAE secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Asian qualifiers for the 2011 Fifa beach soccer World Cup being held in Muscat.
The UAE, who started off with a 6-1 romp against Indonesia on Sunday, got the much-needed three points from a solid 2-0 win against Uzbekistan.
The UAE were swift at the onset with two quick goals in as many minutes right after kick-off proved to be the only ones for the defending beach soccer champions of Asia. Ahmad converted in the very first minute and then Adel made it 2-0 within the next minute to leave the UAE in a commanding position.
But the Uzbek defence then clamped down and did not allow the UAE to come anywhere close to their goal.
Commanding position
And when Sharipov pulled one back within a minute of the second half, Marcelo Mendes's boys were in a bit of a panic. However they averted all further moves on goal and ended up with full points to assure themselves of an entry into the knock-out stages.
Bahrain were the other team ensuring their place in the knock-out stages from Group C following two wins in as many days.
Bahrain followed up their 4-3 win against Uzbekistan on the opening day with a 5-2 result against Indonesia.
In their final group match yesterday, the UAE thrashed Bahrain 4-1 and assured themselves an entry into the knock-out stages starting today.
Meanwhile, hosts Oman too made it to the last eight stages with two convincing wins: an 8-6 win against Kuwait followed by a 11-3 thrashing of Iraq.
They will be joined by China after their 5-2 win against Iraq and a 4-1 result over Kuwait.
Best eight
There are eleven teams in the qualifiers and this number will narrow down to the best eight who will then contest for the top three places who will make it to the 2011 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup to be held in Ravenna, Italy in September.
