The Iraqi passes to the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Cup, and the Qatari and Saudis leave the tournament
The Iraqi national team succeeded in progressing to the semi-finals after defeating Vietnam 1-0 at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, in the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Cup Qatar 2024.
Ali Jassim scored the valuable winning goal for the Iraqi team via a penalty kick in the 64th minute of the match.
The Vietnam national team completed the match with ten players after defender Nguyen Manh Hung was sent off in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half.
The Iraqi national team qualified to meet in the semi-finals on Monday with the Japanese national team, which defeated host Qatar 4-2 on Thursday after extra time.
In the group stage, the Iraqi national team topped the third group standings with 6 points from three matches, after losing to Thailand 0-2, then beating Tajikistan 4-2 and Saudi Arabia 2-1.
On the other hand, the Vietnamese team ranked second in Group Four with 6 points from three matches, as it won against Kuwait 3-1, Malaysia 2-0, and lost to Uzbekistan 0-3.
Saudi Arabia x Uzbekistan
The Saudi national team did not succeed in getting past Uzbekistan to the semi-finals after the latter defeated the defending champions 2-0 at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, in the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Cup Qatar 2023.
Husein Nurchayev (45+2) and substitute Omar Ali Rakhmanullayev (84) scored the winning goals for the Uzbekistan national team.
The Saudi national team completed the match with ten players after striker Ayman Yahya was sent off in the 70th minute as a result of receiving a second warning.
The Uzbek national team qualified to meet in the semi-finals with the Indonesia national team, which defeated the Republic of Korea on penalties on Thursday.
In the group stage, the Uzbekistan national team topped the fourth group standings with 9 points from three matches, as it defeated Malaysia 2-0, Kuwait 5-0, and Vietnam 3-0.
On the other hand, the Saudi team ranked second in Group C with 6 points from three matches, after beating Tajikistan 4-2 and Thailand 5-0, before losing to Iraq 1-2.
Qatar x Japan
The host Qatari national team lost to the Japanese national team, with the latter qualifying for the semi-finals after winning 4-2 after extra time after the end of normal time in a 2-2 draw on Thursday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, in the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2023.
In normal time, Fuki Yamada (2) and Seiji Kimura (67) scored Japan’s goals, while Ahmed Al-Rawi (24) and Jassim Jaber (49) scored Qatar’s goals.
Then, in extra time, the Japanese national team was able to score two goals through Mao Hosoya (101) and Kotaro Uchino (112).
The Qatari team completed the match with ten players after goalkeeper Youssef Abdullah was sent off after returning to the video assistant referee technology
In the group stage, the Qatari team topped the first group with 7 points from three matches, winning over Indonesia 2-0, over Jordan 2-1, and tied with Australia 0-0.
On the other hand, the Japanese team took second place in Group Two with 6 points from three matches, after it beat China 1-0, the UAE 2-0, and lost to the Republic of Korea 0-1.
It is noteworthy that the teams that finished in the three places in the tournament qualify to represent the Asian continent in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, while the fourth-place team will move on to compete in the global playoff match against the Guinea national team, representing the African continent.