Defending champions DPR Korea have qualified for next year’s AFC U-19 Championship along with China, Korea Republic, Australia, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Tajikistan and Syria.

Hosts China and DPR Korea have both earned nine points from three games and sealed their berths with one match to play in Group F. Malaysia, Macau and Singapore were the other teams in this group. China beat Singapore (7-1), Malaysia (1-0) and Macau (10-0) while DPR Korea downed Singapore (3-1), Macau (7-0) and Malaysia (3-1).

Korea Republic, who lost to Japan in the semifinals of the last edition in India, defeated Indonesia (3-1) and Vietnam (4-1) before thrashing Guam 28-0 in Ho Chi Minh City to qualify for the tournament proper which will be held in Saudi Arabia. Australia defeated Indonesia and Vietnam with an identical 2-0 scoreline and crushed Guam 15-0 in their final game.

Uzbekistan topped Group D winning all their three matches in Tashkent. They beat Yemen (1-0), Jordan (3-1) and Nepal (1-0) while Yemen finished second with four points after a victory over Nepal (3-0) and a goalless draw with Jordan.

In Qatar, Tajikistan topped Group C with 10 points. They outclassed Qatar and Turkmenistan with a similar 4-0 scoreline, sidelined Bhutan 8-0 and drew with Syria 1-1. Syria qualified as second team from this group with seven points and one match against Bhutan to play.

FINALISTS (TILL DATE): Tajikistan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Yemen, China, DPR Korea, Korea Republic, Australia.