Lux hat-trick sends Kyrgyzstan into last 16 on tournament debut
Vitali Lux was the hero for Kyrgyzstan as his hat-trick not only gave his side a 3-1 triumph over the Philippines yesterday but also secured their passage into the knockout stages of the Asian Cup.
Kyrgyzstan lost their opening two games in Group C to China and South Korea, results that meant they could not automatically qualify for the last 16.
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Philippines had also been pointless so both sides knew that a draw would do neither any favours in being among the best four third-place sides in the competition.
After a tense start at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai, Kyrgyzstan opened the scoring in the 24th minute as Lux got the first of his three goals.
He found the net from close range after getting on the end of Akhlidin Israilov’s centre.
His second came in similar fashion six minutes after the break to effectively end any hopes for the Philippines.
The 29 year old, who plays for German club SSV Ulm, completed his treble 13 minutes from time.
The Philippines did have a late consolation as they scored their first goal of the tournament when Stephan Schrock found the net in the 84th minute.
The result leaves Kyrgyzstan on three points, and with a level goal difference, it proved enough to reach the last 16 on their tournament debut following Vietnam’s 2-0 win over Yemen yesterday - a result which gives the South-East Asian team a chance of also advancing.
Vietnam, who like Kyrgyzstan lost their first two matches in Group D, collected the three points required to keep their hopes alive thanks to a stunning first-half free-kick from Nguyen Quang Hai, and a second-half penalty by Que Ngoc Hai.
The main interest in today’s games is on deciding who will qualify as the winners of Groups E and F, while also who determining the best of the third-place teams to reach the knockout stage.
Japan and Uzbekistan both have 100 per cent records in Group F and meet at the Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain at 5.30pm having already qualified.
Uzbekistan’s 4-0 win over Turkmenistan on Sunday in Dubai has given them a superior goal difference to Japan and a draw will ensure top spot.
Both Oman and Turkmenistan have no points and know they must not only prevail when they face off at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium but improve their goal differences too. Oman are on -2 and Turkmenistan are on -5.
It is a similar situation in Group E where both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have six points each.
Qatar’s 6-0 defeat of North Korea, in which Almoez Ali scored four times, has given them a goal difference of +8 and Saudi Arabia must win their match at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi at 8pm if they are to be the group victors.
Neither North Korea or Lebanon have scored yet in the tournament, let alone got a point, and they both need to win big at Sharjah Stadium to have any hopes of qualifying.