A thunderbolt from captain Server Djeparov gave Uzbekistan a 2-1 win over Kuwait that took them to the brink of the Asian Cup last eight here on Wednesday and left Kuwait on the verge of elimination. Djeparov cracked home a first-time shot from 20 yards in the 65th minute to continue Uzbekistan's 100 percent record in Group A after the 2-0 defeat of hosts Qatar in their group opener.
Uzbekistan had taken the lead shortly before half-time when Azizbek Haydarov inadvertently diverted a Maksim Shatskikh free-kick past the Kuwait goalkeeper, with Bader Al Mutwa levelling from the penalty spot. "I'm very happy that we beat Kuwait today," said Uzbekistan's coach Vadim Abramov. "I think we can spring a surprise here."
He added: "I hope that Uzbekistan will become the champions, but there are lots of other good teams here as well, like Australia, South Korea, Japan and Iran." Victory puts Uzbekistan on six points after two matches. "Now it's a very bad feeling," said Kuwait coach Goran Tufegdzic.
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