Iraq runner-up for the Asian Youth Cup
Iraq finished second in the AFC U-20 Youth Championship, after losing the final match to host Uzbekistan 1-0, in the match that was held at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent.
Umar Ali Rakhmanullayev scored the precious winning goal for the Uzbek national team via a penalty kick in the 72nd minute of the match.
Thus, the Uzbek national team succeeded in winning its first title in the history of the tournament, noting that it had reached the final match in 2008.
On the other hand, the Iraqi national team failed to win the sixth title, after it was crowned with the championship title in 1975, 1977, 1978, 1988 and 2000.
Iraq finished second in Group A with 4 points from three matches, after beating Indonesia 2-0, losing to Uzbekistan 0-1, drawing with Syria 1-1, and winning the quarter-finals over Iran 1-0, then winning the semi-finals and won against Japan by penalty shootout 5-3 after the two teams tied 1-1 in normal time and 2-2 in overtime.
It is noteworthy that the teams that ranked in the first four places in the tournament qualify for the FIFA U-20 Youth World Cup 2023 in Indonesia, where Japan and South Korea already qualified.