The hosts were fired up for the first knockout fixture after their 8-1 triumph over Tajikistan in the final group game and that showed in the first half as skipper Abbosbek Makhstaliev fired in the opener after 35 minutes, but Syria fought back in the second half with Hussam Omr drawing them level after 62 minutes.

However, Syrian hopes were dashed as in-form Uzbek striker Timur Khakimov steered his side home with a well-taken header seven minutes from time to send Uzbekistan into the semi-finals and the packed stadium into ecstasy.

The victory also means Uzbekistan have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico next year.

Uzbekistan were at it from the whistle with skipper Makhstaliev getting a shot in from the edge of the box with just a minute gone on the clock but Syrian keeper Shaher Shakir was able to collect.

Timur Khakimov then fired dangerously past Shakir’s left hand post in the 11th minute, while Sardor Sabirkhodjaev’s powerful right-footed shot needed a sliding block from the Syrian defence as the half approached the midway point.

At the other end, Syria were content with playing on the counter and Abd Sabooh’s 25th minute free-kick from the right almost got them the lead but for a tip-over by Uzbek keeper Ganisher Kholumurodov.

Just past the half-hour mark, however, Makhstaliev found space in the box at the end of a superb diagonal cross in, but he could only fire inches wide.

But the Uzbek captain was rewarded for his persistence 10 minutes from the break when he got his head to a beautiful cross from midfielder Muhammadjon Abdullaev to mark his third goal of the tournament.

Syria went for broke at half-time, replacing defenders Shareef Sebaee and Walat Hamadi with midfielders Ayhab Housni and Abd Hfean respectively, and their confidence seemed better, as they pushed further upfield than in the opening half.

And the changes almost got them back on level terms in the 58th minute when Amer Hashim’s free-kick from the right was headed by Badruddin Shaker but the ball could only land on the top netting.

The Uzbek defence was finally broken when Ahmad Salim chipped in a superb cross just after the hour mark and a close-range header from Omr restored parity for the West Asians.

And with a quarter-of-an-hour left on the clock, Hfean had nearly snatched the lead for Syria when he struck past Kholmurodov but Uzbek centre-back Sardor Rakhmanov was on hand to clear off the line.

Khakimov, however had plans off his own, and in the 83rd minute he managed to shake off his marker to head home his fifth goal of the tournament from eight yards off a superb in-swinging cross from the right.