Action from the Iran-India match during the AFC U-19 Championship qualifier in Tehran. Photo by: IPNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Four more nations confirmed their places at the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship as Japan, Iran, Thailand and Lebanon all advanced after the final round of qualifying matches..

 

Japan, runners-up to DPR Korea at the last competition in India, rounded of their qualification campaign as Group E winners following Sunday’s 3-2 win over hosts Thailand, who also make the trip to Saudi Arabia after finishing second behind the undefeated Japanese.

 

Like Japan, Iran advanced to the finals by winning their group with a perfect record. Their 1-0 victory over India on Saturday saw the four-time Asian youth champions top Group B having recorded five wins out of five without conceding a goal.

 

Lebanon’s 2-1 defeat of Oman on the same day put the Lebanese through as runners-up behind the Iranians.

 

Three-team Group A, which is the only one to be played on a home-and-away format, will be resolved over the next ten days, with group leaders the UAE hosting Kuwait in Dubai on Wednesday before heading on the road to Damascus where they will face Iraq a week later.

 

With six points and a game in hand over Iraq and Kuwait, who both have three each, the UAE should qualify as group winners and have a major say in which of the other two join them for the finals in Saudi Arabia.

 

In addition to the tournament hosts, defending champions DPR Korea, Tajikistan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Yemen, China, AFC newcomers Australia and 11-time winners Korea Republic will be in the fray.

 

The 16-team line up will be complete with the top-two sides from Group A going through along with the third placed team who has the best qualifying campaign record.