The United Arab Emirates booked a place in the AFC Youth Championship final against Uzbekistan after routing Australia 3-0 in their semifinal clash at the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam on Tuesday. Uzbekistan stole a 1-0 victory over South Korea earlier at the same avenue. Captain Ahmed Khalil put the UAE ahead early and his teammate Rashid Essa doubled the score a few minutes later. Abdul Aziz Hussain sealed the deserved win in the second half. The UAE which is unbeaten in the competition so far had a brilliant start. Ahmed Khalil handed the UAE the lead four minutes into the match when he shot Ahmed Ali's pass inside the box straight into the net of Australian goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne. Rashid Essa doubled the lead eight minutes later when he shot the ball into the net of Redmayne. Australia struggled for chances as the UAE defense stood firm. Abdul Aziz Hussain completed the rout when he netted a ball rebounding off Australian keeper Redmayne to seal the victory. In the match played earlier in the day midfielder Karimov Sherzodbek scored the game's lone goal to help Uzbekistan advance to the final. It is third time lucky for Uzbekistan. It made it to the semifinals in 2002 and was knocked out in the quarterfinals by South Korea in 2004. Uzbekistan played without its regular goalkeeper Doniyorjon Usmonov, who was sent off in its last match against China. Ihlom Djumanov replaced Usmonov and saved his side on a number of occasions. Nine-time winner South Korea had the upper hand in the early part of the game but the defense-minded Uzbek side nullified its attempts. Uzbekistan itself depended on counter attacks which resulted in a free kick near South Korea box in the 16th minute. Karimov blasted the ball to the right corner of the net to bring smiles on the faces of his teammates. In the 94th minute, South Korea was reduced to 10 players when it lost its goalkeeper's services after an offensive action against an Uzbek defender when the goalkeeper joined the attack during a corner kick on Uzbekistan side. The final will be played on Friday. __
