AL AIN, UAE, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Striker Almoez Ali scored four goals to help Qatar hammer DPR Korea 6-0 on Sunday in Group E of the ongoing AFC Asian Cup 2019 hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ali bagged his four goals in the 9th, 11th, 55th and 60th minutes of the one-sided match while defenders Boualem Khoukhi and Abdelkarim Hassan scored the other two on 43 and 68 minutes respectively.

With the overwhelming victory, the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts are on equal footing with Saudi Arabia atop Group E with six points each, both having their seats easily booked in the knockouts at the expense of DPR Korea and Lebanon.

DPR Korea's net received 10 goals in their two matches with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, waiting for a final match with Lebanon on Thursday.

Run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and extended to feature 24 teams, the 17th edition of the quadrennial competition is running from January 5 to February 1.