DOHA, Dec 7: Pakistan and Japan waved early goodbye to the 15th Asian Games football event in round two (Group F) in Doha, Qatar.

Pakistan lost to Syria 0-2 at the Al-Arabi Football Stadium while the North Koreans, who faced difficulty in beating Pakistan last Sunday, edged out Japan 2-1.

Silver medallists in the 2002 Asian Games, Japan were the favourites going into the match at the Qatar Sports Club, but in the end they lost to the Koreans.

Syria’s first win in the competition was enough for them to earn a spot in the last eight with the 2-0 victory over Pakistan, with captain Maher Al Said scoring the goals at the end of each half.

Syria led 1-0 at the interval through Maher’s 41st minute goal. He struck another in the closing stages when the referee Jaafar Mahfood was about to signal the end of an exciting match.

Syrian players were tense throughout the game and failed to keep discipline and the referee booked three Syrian players --Balhowss Mowssab, Ayan Wael and Maher.

Korea took the lead in the fourth minute through their captain Hong Yong Jo. Japan equalised just three minutes later through Yugo Ichiyanagi. The winning goal came in the 63rd minute from Kim Yong Jun who scored with a terrific free kick. Korea top Group F with seven points, and Japan, have just six points and a low goal difference, meaning they are out of the competition along with Pakistan.

The quarter-finals all take place on December 9 with Thailand taking on hosts Qatar at the Al-Gharrafa Football Stadium and China facing Iran at the Al-Rayyan Football Stadium.—Agencies