MANAMA, Oct 19, (KUNA): Kuwait became the first West Asian nation to officially qualify for the men’s 2020 AFC Futsal Championships, topping their group after a 4-1 drubbing of Iraq.

The Kuwaitis clinched nine points convincingly, achieving three wins out of three matches in the West Asia qualifiers Group A, hosted by Bahrain.

They made it through in spite of having one more match to play, as they will go up against the host nation on Saturday.

Only the top two sides out of the dual-group regional qualifiers will make it to the continental event, scheduled to take place in Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat.

In their earlier encounters, Kuwait beat the United Arab Emirates 4-1, after an astounding 7-1 victory over Palestine.

Meanwhile, Lebanon sits atop proceedings in Group B with six points.

They will be hoping to beat Qatar on Sunday to be the second side in the region to go through, with Oman and Saudi Arabia being the other two sides vying for a ticket to Ashgabat next year.