Malacca Malaysia: Syria on Thursday beat Qatar 3-1 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. Qatar scored their only goal of the Group A match through Ali Assad in the 35th minute at Hang Jebat Stadium in Krubong, Malacca. A double strike by Omar Kharbin (7 and 54) gave Syria the edge for most part of the second half. Mahmoud Al Nawaz (90 + 5) added the third for Syria into injury time. Qatar, who were playing under New coach Felix Sanchez, had beaten Syria in the first leg. Qatar now host China on September 5 in Doha for what will be an inconsequential clash at Khalifa International Stadium. After the coming clash next week, Qatar will look to playing the full series of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar beat South Korea in their last game in June. In the other group games, China edged Uzbekistan 1-0 while Iran, maintained their clean sheet through the qualifying stage so far and held Korea to a goalless draw.