Uzbek skipper Abbosbek Mahstaliyev fired a brace and substitute playmaker Abdullaev Muhammadjon added another. Kuwait ended the match with nine players after Ahmad Al Mansour and Abdulaziz Al Mutairi were red-carded in the last quarter.

The Saudis threatened continuously against Pakistan but failed to find the net until late in the match when Mohamed Al Nakhli struck. Saleem Hassan Khan of Pakistan then managed to turn the ball into his own net under pressure to hand over an easy win to their rivals.

Group A is the sole one to be decided with the top two teams going through to the tournament proper.

The teams which have already qualified are: Iran and Tajikistan (Group B), Syria and Iraq (Group C), UAE and Jordan (Group D), Japan and Indonesia (Group E), China and Timor Leste (Group F), DPR Korea and Vietnam (Group G), and Australia (Group H).