AFC.com
Qatar defeated Bhutan 6-0 to move to the top of Group B of the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ and Uzbekistan 2023 Qualifiers on Wednesday.
The group hosts Bahrain, who were held 0-0 by Bangladesh in their opener, got their campaign back on track with a 6-0 defeat of Nepal at the Sheikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium.
Qatar 6-0 Bhutan
Bhutan, having been edged 2-1 by Bangladesh after opening with a 2-0 win over Nepal, badly needed victory to stay in sight of qualifying but found Qatar too hot to handle.
Rashid Abdulaziz Al Abdulla opened the scoring in the 26th minute and by the time the referee blew the whistle for halftime, Qatar - who defeated Nepal 3-1 in their opening match - were 4-0 up with Alhashmi Mohialdin (34th), Jassem Mohammed Alsharshani (39th) and Mobark Shanan Hamza (45+4) getting their names on the scoresheet.
Defender Ahmed Alrawi took charge of the scoring duties in the second half, netting in the 61st and 78th minutes as Qatar took a huge step toward qualifying for the Finals.
Bahrain 6-0 Nepal
Both sides needed a win, with Nepal having lost their opening two matches but Bahrain took control from the first blow of the referee's whistle and opened the scoring through Abdulla Sultan Alkhalasi's spot-kick in the 19th minute.
Sayed Ali Naser doubled Bahrain's lead three minutes before the break, leaving Nepal with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Bahrain, however, continued to dictate terms and Abdulrahman Gadban made it 3-0 in the 67th minute.
A late blitz saw Abdulla Ali Alsubaiei scoring a brace (84th, 88th) with Mubarak Mohamed Habib adding the sixth a minute into added-on time.
Friday's match-ups see Bahrain playing Bhutan while Qatar will meet Bangladesh.