Defending champion North Korea kicked off its AFC Youth Championship title defense with a 4-0 victory over Lebanon in Group C opener in Dammam on Saturday. At the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium, striker An Il Bom put his side ahead before Jo Jong Chol extended North Korea's lead in the first half. Ri Sang made it 3-0 after the break and Ri Hyong Mu completed the rout. In Group D, a first half goal by Mirzaev Davron helped Uzbekistan beat Jordan 1-0 at the Prince Saud Bin Jalwi Stadium in Al-Khobar. China blanked 10-man Tajikistan 6-0 in the first half to make a perfect start here. At the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Striker Zhou Liao scored a brace for China during Group C encounter while Zhang Yuan, Cao Yunding and Piao Cheng completed their side's scoring before the break. China tops Group C alongside North Korea. In another match in Group D, Australia won 1-0 over Thailand at the Prince Saud Bin Jlawi stadium in Al-Khobar. Sam Munro scored during first half actions to seal the win for Australia and earned his side its first three points. North Korea which won the last edition of the Asian title after a 5-3 victory over Japan on penalties in 2006, faced no trouble as its west Asian rival Lebanon lacked experience in such meetings. It was the first appearance for Lebanon in the finals of the AFC Youth Championship. The match was totally dominated by Koreans. Lebanese only made some shots in the second half from outside the box but all their attempts went wide. An Il Bom put Koreans ahead early in the first half after he sent the ball to the far right corner of Lebanese Mohammed Hijazi's goal. Lebanon began to lose control after the goal and committed blunders inside the box to see Jo Jong Chol doubling the lead in the 32nd minute after he pounced on a rebound. After the break, Lebanon coach Osama Sakr made some changes in his squad in an attempt to rally his side but the 64th minute goal from Ri Sang killed Osama's hopes. Sang blasted the ball from outside to hit the right side of a hapless Jijazi. In the 90minute, defender Ri Hyong Mu completed the tally with a reverse kick that missed Mohammed Hijazi's hands. China started its scoring campaign after 20 minutes when the team's pressure caused Tajikistan's Vasiev putting the ball into his own net. Zhou Liao waited only minute to double the lead. In the 28th minute, Tajikistan conceded a third goal but this time through Zhang. Four minutes later, Zhou scored his second goal thanks to Hui Jiakang's short pass. Tajikistan's miserable situation went worse when the team was down to ten players after striker Kamil Saidov was sent off. In the 40th minute, Zhuo combined well with Cao Yunding inside the area before Cao scored the fifth goal for China. Before going to the break, Piao Cheng sent a long shot to hit the right top corner of Murodov. After the break, China continued its domination but the session ended barren. __
