Saudi Arabia ensured a place in the quarterfinals of the AFC Youth Soccer Championship after winning 4-1 over Yemen at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam on Sunday. Saudi Arabia topped Group A alongside Japan which also joined the last eight teams after recording a 4-2 victory over Iran in their clash at the same avenue. The United Arab Emirates also sealed a ticket from Group B to book its place in the quarterfinal following a late 2-1 win over South Korea. Meanwhile, Iran, Yemen and Syria have now been eliminated from the championship. The second ticket in Group B, will decided on Tuesday when Iraq plays South Korea. In Group B, Iraq won 2-1 over Syria thanks to a brace from Ali Awdah. Saudi Arabia striker Nawaf Al-Abed, who scored the winner against Iran, put the host ahead early in the first half but Yemen drew level before the break. Abdul Rahim Jizawi regained the Saudi lead before Omar Al-Khodari increased the margin. Al-Jizawi scored a late goal to seal the win for Saudi Arabia. With the second win Saudi Arabia has six points in Group A. It has a remaining match in the group against Japan next Tuesday at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam. Yemen, which lost to Japan 5-0 in its opener, could only resist ten minutes after the kick off as Nawaf Al-Abed broke the deadlock by connecting a cross from Mousa Ayiash. Saudi Arabia continued its domination in the first half but its neighbor Yemen bounced back. In the 31st minute, Mousa Abdullah equalized for Yemen by blasting from inside the box to hit the net of Hassan Shaian. Saudi Arabia waited only one minute after the break to take control of the game when Abdul Rahim Al-Jizawi doubled the lead. In the 54th minute, Mohammed Al-Qarni's long shot was saved by Masood. Ten minutes later, Al-Abed's header went wide. Yemen played the final 20 minutes with ten players after Ahmed Al-Saeed received his second yellow card. In the 82nd minute, Omar Al-Khodari extended the Saudi lead after one-two with Yahya Al-Shehri before Al-Khodari sent the ball to the far side of Ali Masood. Three minutes later, Jizawi scored his second goal from the left edge to seal the win for Saudi Arabia. In Japan match, Kensuke Nagai scored a hat trick to help his side in its 4-2 victory over Iran. It was Hiroki Miyazawa who put Japan ahead in the opening minute, only six minutes before Nagai doubled the score for Japan which beat Yemen 5-0 in their opener. In the 19th minute, Ehsan Haji Safi who scored Iran's only goal against Saudi Arabia, pulled one goal back before Seyediman Moosavi scored the equalizer. Nagai extended Japan lead again in the 32nd minute and came back to score once more to seal the win for Japan in 78th minute. In Group B, the UAE scored two late goals in the 90th minute and 94th minutes to beat South Korea at the Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al-Khobar. Korea took the lead in the 27th minute but substitute players Ahmed Khalil and Salem Zayed scored respectively to seal the win for the UAE. __
