Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Amman: A scintillating first-half display saw Uzbekistan begin their FIFA Women's Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 - Asian Qualifiers Round 1 campaign with a dominant 6-0 defeat of Palestine on Wednesday.
The Central Asians scored four times within the first 15 minutes of the Group B curtain-raiser at the Petra Stadium with Makhliyo Sarikova (7th), Zumratjo Nazarova (9th), Kamola Risikieva (12th) and Feruz Turdiboeva (14th) all getting their names on the score sheet before skipper Nargiza Abdurasulova made it 5-0 in the 22nd minute, two minutes after Australian referee Kate Jacewicz had sent off Palestine defender Nadin Owd.
The ten woman of Palestine put up a much better defensive display after the interval, restricting the Uzbeks’ scoring to Nilufar Kudratov’s 63rd minute effort as the Uzbeks outlined their credentials as the favourites to advance to the second qualifying round.
Meanwhile, in the later Group B fixture at the same venue hosts Jordan edged Hong Kong courtesy of Maysa Jbarah early strike.
The 25-year-old forward, who made history at the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup when she scored Jordan’s first ever goal in the continental finals, found the net just eight minutes after Japanese referee Fusako Kajiyama started Wednesday’s second match at the Petra Stadium.
Three group winners from Round 1 advance to Round 2, where they join Thailand and Vietnam, with a place in the final round going to the side that finishes top of the five-team table.
The top-two sides from Qualification Final Round - which features reigning Asian champions Japan, 2014 FC Asian Cup runners-up Australia, DPR Korea, China, and Korea Republic - will fly the Asian flag at the 2016 Summer Olympics’ women’s football tournament.