Uzbekistan booked their place at the 2011 Asian Cup finals last night by beating Malaysia 3-1, while Japan beat Hong Kong 4-0 to strengthen their chances of going through.But Bryan Robson's Thailand suffered a big setback, crashing to Singapore 1-0 in Bangkok in Group E after Aleksander Duric's 37th- minute header.
Anvar Gafurov and Bakhodir Nasimov put the Uzbeks 2-0 up in the Group C clash before Baddrol Bakhtiar pulled a goal back for Malaysia 20 minutes from time. Captain Timur Kapadze restored the advantage three minutes later as the visitors recorded a third consecutive win to end Malaysia's hopes of reaching the finals in Qatar.
Uzbekistan join the host nation, AFC Challenge Cup winners India and the top three at the 2007 finals - South Korea, Iraq, Saudi Arabia - in the showpiece event. "We will have to make sure that we complete the fixtures on a winning note," said coach Mirdjalal Kasimov. "It was not a performance deserving of praise."
Syria's 0-0 draw at home to Vietnam put them on the verge of qualifying from Group D while Kuwait drew 1-1 with Indonesia in Jakarta to draw level with Australia at the top of Group B.
In Hong Kong, Makoto Hasebe scored on 32 minutes to put Japan on course for their third win in four Group A matches.
Hisato Sato headed home the second goal, Shunsuke Nakamura grabbed the third and Shinji Okazaki added an injury-time penalty to condemn the hosts to their fourth successive loss, all but ending their hopes of quali
