Australia and Uzbekistan shared the spoils in their Group D of the AFC Youth Soccer Championship following a 1-1 draw at the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Khobar Monday. Karimov Sherzodbek with a solo effort put Uzbekistan ahead in the first half and Tahj James Rodney equalized shortly after the break. In Group C, China came from behind to beat Lebanon 3-1 at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam. Host Saudi Arabia and its rival in Group A, Japan, joined last eight following Sunday victories over Yemen and Iran respectively. The United Arab Emirates also joined the last eight after a 2-1 win over South Korea. The second ticket in Group B, will be decided on Tuesday when Iraq plays South Korea. At the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Uzbakistan waited for 38 minutes to break the deadlock when Karimov received the ball just few inches off the box. Karimov left three Australian defenders behind before he shot the ball into the far right corner of goalkeeper Andrew James. Shortly after the break, Tahj James Rodney wiped out Uzbekistan's lead on a blunder from an Uzbekistan defender who missed the ball. Rodney just blasted the ball into the net of Uzbekistan goalkeeper Usmonov Doniyorjon. Australia pressed forward looking to double its score but the Uzbekistan defense blocked all attempts. In the 67th minute, on a counterattack Turaev Kenja shot from left edge of the box but Andrew James saved it. Turaev had another attempt ten minutes later but his 20-yard shot went wide. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and Japan meets in Group A to decide the group leader. In another match in Group C, defending champion North Korea scored a late goal to draw 1-1 with Tajikistan at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam. North Korea which blanked Lebanon 4-0 in its opening match found it difficult to deal with Tajikistan which lost against China 6-0. It was Il-bom who canceled out the Tajikistan lead late in the game. Samad Shohzukhurov had eariler put Tajiks ahead in 40th minute. The draw gave North Korea its fourth point and the second spot in the group, two points behind China. China, Tajikistan and North Korea will play Wednesday to decide the two teams which advance to the quarterfinals. In Al-Khobar, Thailand kept its quarterfinal hopes alive with a 3-2 win over Jordan in a Group D match at the Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium. Yodrak Namueangrak put Thailand ahead in the 28th minute before his teammate Anusorn doubled the lead after the break. In the 65th minute, Attapong Nooprom made it 3-0 but Jordan's Adel Amirah pulled one goal back after seven minutes and Yaser Rawashdeh further reduced the margin. The result leaves Thailand one point behind its next opponent Uzbekistan, who is level on four points with Australia, while Jordan's hopes of qualifying was ended with its second straight loss. Australia and Uzbekistan top Group D on four points one point ahead of Thailand while Lebanon lost the chance to qualify as it stayed on the bottom without a win. __
