Uzbekistan enjoyed a three-goal advantage in the first half, and Yakhshiboev secured the win with his second of the match in the 47th minute to knock the young Samurai Blue out of the tournament with a 4-0 win.

Japan and Qatar were the only teams to progress from the group stage with a perfect record, and going into the quarter-final tie, the 20-year-old midfielder was more than aware of the task that lay ahead for Uzbekistan.

First half goals from Javokhir Sidikov, Jasurbek Yakhshiboev and Dostonbek Khamdamov gave Uzbekistan a comfortable lead before the break, and Yakshiboev struck again after the restart to seal a historic semi-final appearance for the White Wolves.

Khaydarov said his team were well prepared for Japan, having analysed them ahead of the game.

“In the first half, we played very well, because we knew how Japan would play with the ball and we tried to press them.

“The way we scored our first three goals was the way we planned during training.

“We followed the strategy we had prepared for Japan.”

Uzbekistan showcased a dominant display of football and raced to a comfortable three-goal lead in the first half, before Jasurbek Yakhshiboev sealed the win with his second goal of the game after the break.

Before the match began, both teams observed a minute’s silence in memory of the Uzbekistan citizens who perished in the recent bus fire in Kazakhstan.

Uzbekistan, well aware of Japan’s quality, applied pressure from the start and didn’t give the young Samurai Blue any space to move freely.

The early aggression gave Uzbekistan the lion’s share of possession, forcing Japan to play on the counter.

 

The Al Duhail forward starred throughout an intriguing encounter to guide Qatar, who finished fourth at the competition’s 2016 edition, into the next phase and break Palestinian hearts after they had forced their way back into the game late on.

Qatar are now scheduled to meet either Iraq or Vietnam in the last four on Tuesday.

On a foggy night in Jiangsu province, it was tournament debutants Palestine who raced out of the blocks at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center, striker Oday Dabbagh making the most of hesitancy in the Qatar defence to fizz a shot narrowly wide of the left-hand upright with only 40 seconds played.

Group A winners Qatar responded quickly however, and Felix Sanchez’s charges came close to taking the lead on seven minutes when Sultan Al Brake’s lobbed attempt from a quick Akram Afif free-kick landed on the roof of the net with Palestine goalkeeper Ramzi Fahkouri beaten.

Qatar continued to press their opponents, and after seeing Fakhouri make a fine save from his drilled shot, Almoez Ali finally broke the deadlock on 32 minutes, the livewire striker connecting with Bassam Al Rawi’s pinpoint pass to steer the ball home with an outstretched leg and claim his fourth goal of a memorable campaign.