Park Chu Young (R) of South Korea fights for the ball with Mohamed Husain of Bahrain during their Asian Games Group B second round soccer match in Doha December 5, 2006. [Reuters]

Hosts Qatar have also qualified in spite of their second place position with 6 points in Group A. Because there will be no more than one team that can better Qatar as the best runner-up on goal difference of all six groups. And the best two runners-up can qualify for last eight according to the rules.

South Korea labored out a 1-0 win over a solid Bahrain side. Rightback Oh Beom Seok unleashed a thunderbolt from 30 meters into the upper corner of the net in the 57th minute to seal victory.

South Korea's head coach Peter Verbeek brought on a trident striking force made up of Lee Chun Soo, Yeom Ki Hun and Park Chu Young. But it was Bahrain who took the upper hand in the first half.

Bahrain made good use of the offside strategy frequently produced by their opponents. The midfielders of Bahrain sent several fine through balls to beat the trap and created two one-to- one situations with the keeper Kim Young Kuwang, but squandered both after two brash small-angle shots from inside the box.

Bahrain kept the pressure on the South Koreans after the interval, forward Jaycee John displayed his quality with a powerful long-range drive a bit wide of the post.

But the 57th-minute goal helped boost the morale of the South Koreans and they opened the two flanks with captain Lee Chun Soo's sharp forays.

Bahrain pushed forward and created several good chances after neat short passes up front, but missed all of them.

Thailand downed Kuwait 1-0 in another high quality match. The Thais showed their skill in ball control and swift short passes, and finally notched the victory with a penalty kick.

In Tuesday's other matches, Uzbekistan beat Jordan 3-1; Vietnam defeated Bangladesh 5-1; Qatar thrashed United Arab Emirates 4-1; Kyrgyzstan edged Palestine 3-0.