Soccer-Soria scores on milestone Qatari cap against young Uzbeks

DOHA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Striker Sebastian Soria marked his 100th appearance for Qatar by opening the scoring in a comfortable 3-0 friendly win over fellow Asian Cup finalists Uzbekistan on Monday. The Uruguayan-born Soria was on hand at the back post to convert Mosaab Mahmoud's low cross in the 18th minute to set head coach Djamel Belmadi up for his first win since the Algerian took over in March. Hassan Al Haydos doubled the lead just before halftime with a powerful long-range drive before Meshaal Mubarak came off the bench to complete the scoring in the 67th minute. The Uzbeks were without top foreign-based internationals like Server Djeparov and Odil Akhmedov and fielded a majority of the under-23 side that reached the quarter-finals of the recent Asian Games in South Korea. Qatar will face Lebanon in another friendly on Friday before taking on Asian Cup hosts Australia the following Tuesday as they continue preparations for the January tournament and next month's Gulf Cup of Nations in Saudi Arabia. Uzbekistan will be boosted by the availability of their top players when they play Bahrain and United Arab Emirates on the two FIFA match days in the coming week. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by John O'Brien)