Day: April 22, 2024

Doha: Korea Republic achieved a 1-0 win over Japan to seal top spot in Group B of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Monday and set up a quarter-final meeting with Indonesia.

Kim Min-woo’s header in the 15th minutes sealed the victory for Korea.

Japan, meanwhile, will take on hosts Qatar in their last eight encounter on Thursday after finishing in second place in the standings, with Go Oiwa’s side suffering their first defeat of the competition, the AFC website reported.

Kim scored 17 minutes after being introduced from the bench by head coach Hwang Sun-hong during a game that had looked destined for long periods to end in a draw as both teams had already secured their spots in the knockout rounds.

The Japanese began positively with Yu Hirakawa troubling the Korean defence down the left flank only for his cutback from the bye-line to be intercepted before reaching Ryotaro Araki.

The Machida Zelvia winger was Japan’s more promising outlet throughout the opening 45 minutes, pus
hing forward after Kota Takai’s header to bend a shot from 25 yards that only just cleared Baek Jong-bum’s crossbar.

It was from Hirakawa’s corner that Baek was almost caught out, the ball coming out of the sun from behind the stand to confuse the goalkeeper before he gratefully gathered close to the goal line.

With their top scorer Lee Young-jun on the bench, the Koreans carried a minimal threat until a minute before the interval when Hong Si-hoo slid the ball into Jeong Sang-bin and he set up Hong Yun-sang to strike, but Takai’s challenge snuffed out the danger.

Kang Seong-jin went closest to finding a way through for the Koreans in the 67th minute, glancing his header midway through the half wide of Taishi Nozawa’s goal after being expertly picked out by Hong Yun-sang from the right flank.

That sparked the Japanese back into life with substitute Kuryu Matsuki releasing Kotaro Uchino and prompting Baek to race from his goal-line to clear. Moments later Takai steered his header from Matsuki’s left wing c
ross wide of the target.

In the 75th minute, however, Korea took the lead. Lee Tae-seok’s corner was swung over from the right towards the far post and Kim was left unattended to power his header down past Nozawa.

Kim almost doubled the lead six minutes later, Nozawa dropping to his left to steer a low shot around the post while at the other end Kein Sato fired over the bar after Mao Hosoya’s effort was blocked.

Japan kept pushing with Joel Chima Fujita’s effort deflected off target and Hosoya heading directly at Baek, while Sato’s header hit the post in a frantic finish but the Koreans held on.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Permits Management Director at the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar, Abdullah Al Mannai, confirmed that around 25,000 permits have been issued for this continental tournament, including registration via the official website of the Asian Football Confederation, as well as through the LOC-approved channels.

In a statement to the Qatar News Agency , Al Mannai explained that the Permits Management, in collaboration with the Security Committee and the Entry Permit Committee for Visitors to Qatar (Hayya), worked on obtaining the necessary approvals and issuing mandatory permits for all entities. Additionally, there is a special platform for journalists, called the “Hayya Media Portal,” aimed at facilitating the work of journalists covering the events, alongside issuing permits for all partners and workforce to perform their duties effectively.

Al Mannai highlighted that the accumulation of experiences gained from previous tournaments, along with the significant legac
y Qatar acquired after hosting the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Finals, contributed to securing the issuance of permits smoothly through cooperation with partners and relevant authorities. This is done with great flexibility in parallel with the required technical aspects, aligning with the importance of the event, further enhancing the distinguished reputation of Qatari organization, he explained.

He concluded his statements to QNA by emphasizing that the Permits Management at the committee comprises outstanding Qatari talents who have gained extensive organizational experience through their participation in organizing numerous tournaments and sporting events hosted by Qatar in recent years.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: China defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 on Monday in matchday 3 of Group B of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

The victory was only the East Asians’ second ever win in tournament victory and saw them finish third in Group B ahead of their opponents, with both already eliminated prior to kick-off, the AFC website reported.

Having each failed to score in their preceding two matches, China PR and UAE were looking to salvage some pride and it was the latter who threatened first in the seventh minute. Fahad Bader romped down the left and put in a low cross that was turned into his own goal by Jia Feifan, only for VAR to rule that the winger had been offside when receiving the ball.

That was the best moment of the half for the West Asians, who came under the cosh from a determined China PR side that broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Harib Abdalla’s half-hearted headed clearance from Tao Qianglong’s cross saw the ball fall to Xie Wenneng near the penalty spot, a
nd the 23-year-old promptly volleyed it into the left bottom corner.

It was China PR’s first goal in six AFC U23 Asian Cup matches, with the last time they found the back of the net coming in a 3-0 win against Oman in 2018.

The UAE were granted a second reprieve in the 41st minute when referee Hussein Abo Yehia overturned a penalty award following a VAR review, but it lasted just nine minutes. A blind pass from Sultan Ali was intercepted by Liu Zhurun, who shrugged off Zayed Sultan and advanced into the area to drill a low finish past goalkeeper Khaled Tawhid.

Seeking a response, Marcelo Broli made three changes after the restart and reaped near-immediate dividends. Three minutes into the second half, Ahmed Fawzi masterfully brought Abdulla Almenhali’s piercing diagonal pass under control before calmly sliding the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper Li Hao. It was just the second shot on target registered by the UAE throughout the tournament.

That tally soon grew to three when substitute Mohammed Jumah, wh
o had fired a half chance wide already, drew a smart save from Li with a fierce drive just past the hour mark.

In the ascendancy now, UAE probed for an equaliser and Jumah headed a decent opening over before Sultan Ali nearly atoned for his mistake with a curling free-kick that was tipped over at full stretch by Li, who was making his first appearance at this tournament.

A rare glimpse of goal at the other end for Abuduwaili could have seen him wrap up the win but the forward’s tame effort was gratefully collected by Tawhid, who also shovelled away an effort from Zhu Yue late on.

But in the end, UAE simply could not muster enough to avoid a third successive loss even with nine minutes of added time, leaving China PR to celebrate a hard-earned triumph at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.

Source: Qatar News Agency