Ittihad Club Jeddah stormed into the semifinals of the Asian Champions League with a resounding 4-0 win over Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor Wednesday. Sultan Al-Namri, Amine Chermiti, Hisham Bucherouane and Mohammed Noor scored for Al-Ittihad to win 5-1 on aggregate, and it will host the first leg semifinal against Japan's Nagoya Grampus on Oct. 21. The return match is a week later. Umm Salal of Qatar will face Pohang Steelers of South Korea in the other two-leg semifinal, with the winners to meet in the final in Tokyo on Nov. 7. Pohang Steelers beat Bunyodkor 4-1 after extra time and 5-4 on aggregate while Umm Salal progressed by eliminating another K-League club, FC Seoul, 4-3 on aggregate after the second leg in South Korea ended 1-1. Former two-time champion Al-Ittihad scored an important away goal in the first leg of the quarterfinal in Tashkent last week, but was determined to make the most of home advantage Wednesday, especially with the return of defender Osama Al-Harbi and midfielder Ahmed Hadid from suspensions. On loan Hertha Berlin striker Chermiti also was back for the Saudi champ along with Argentine forward Luciano Leguizamon, who missed the Tashkent match due to injury. Al-Namri scored first in the 42nd minute when he pounced on a rebound of Bucherouane's powerful shot which came off Pakhtakor goalkeeper Ignatiy Nestrov. Chermiti's neat finish made it 2-0 ten minutes into the second half, and Ittihad put the result beyond doubt in the 70th when Bucherouane headed home. Captain Noor completed the rout in the 77th. Pohang's win over Bunyodkor ended manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's first foray into Asian continental football. Kuwaiti club wins in Iraq Rogerio de Assis Silva scored in the 79th minute to give Kuwait Sports Club a 1-0 victory over Irbil, Iraq, Wednesday to win the two-leg series in the AFC Cup quarterfinals. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Kuwait. The 20,000 plus fans in the sold-out stadium in Iraq's northern Kurdish region heaped cheers on the visiting team and some waved Kuwaiti flags. Czechs, Brazil, UAE qualify The Czech Republic packed its defense to hold Brazil to a 0-0 draw Wednesday at the Under-20 World Cup, securing a place in the knockout stage for both countries. In a late match, United Arab Emirates beat Honduras 1-0 to advance to the knockout stage. Al-Ahli striker Ahmel Khalil scored from a free kick in the 41st minute, and UAE goalkeeper Yousif Abdulrahman made several saves as Honduras pushed forward in numbers in the second half. Costa Rica bounced back from a first-round thrashing to rout Australia 3-0 in the other Group E game. Its forwards proved too fast for the Young Socceroos, who scored an own-goal and had a man sent off in the second half. Diego Madrigal and David Guzman scored for the central Americans. In Group F, Hungary trounced South Africa 4-0, with all the goals in the second half. Hungary has three points and improved its chances of advancing after losing its opener to Honduras. South Africa has one point.
