Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Changshu: Bashar Resan claims Iraq are back on track after their victory over Jordan on Tuesday saw Abdulghani Shahad’s side return to winning ways to advance to the knockout phase of the AFC U23 Championship 2018.
Iraq opened their campaign with a 4-1 victory over Malaysia before being held scoreless in a draw with Saudi Arabia.
But Resan scored the only goal of the game on Tuesday as Iraq defeated Jordan to secure top spot in Group C and set up a quarter-final meeting with the yet-to-be-determined runners-up in Group D.
"We thank God that we qualified for the quarter-finals, and that we also performed well in all of our matches, maybe with the exception of the match against Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“In that game as our tactics were different, but we got back on track against Jordan. We matched our expectations, and we hope we can continue to be successful in the coming rounds."
The meeting with Saudi Arabia saw both teams engage in a damage limitation exercise that yielded little in the way of goal-mouth action as Iraq, in particular, set aside their attacking instincts to ensure they picked up at least a point.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kunshan: Malaysia coach Ong Kim Swee hailed his team’s qualification for the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship 2018 as the Southeast Asian nation advanced to the knockout phase on their debut appearance at the Finals.
Ong’s team sealed a surprise 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to take second place in Group C behind Iraq and in the next phase of the competition, the Malaysians will face the winners of Group D, which will be determined on Wednesday evening.
Danial Amier Norhashim scored the only goal of the game before Ong’s team put on a disciplined defensive performance to keep the Saudis at bay and ensure Malaysia advanced.
“To achieve this is a great achievement,” Ong said. “The players have shown character and that we can compete with superior teams, not just Jordan but Saudi Arabia too.
“We have not beaten Saudi Arabia in so many years. We drew against Jordan and we won against Saudi Arabia and that’s a massive achievement for our football.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Changshu: Bashar Resan scored the only goal of the game as Iraq handed Jordan a 1-0 defeat at the AFC U23 Championship 2018 on Tuesday to secure their place in the quarter-finals as winners of Group C.
Resan scored four minutes into the second half to ensure Abdulghani Shahad’s side go into the last eight with an unbeaten record after a victory over Malaysia and a draw with Saudi Arabia.
As a result, Iraq win Group C with seven points from three games with Malaysia in second on four points as Jordan and Saudi Arabia were eliminated.
Iraq made a rapid-fire start when Ayman Hussein, who returned to the starting line-up after missing the first two games due to suspension, was denied by the crossbar with just 30 seconds on the clock.
The woodwork kept the Iraqis out again three minutes later, with Resan’s effort from outside the area striking the crossbar as Iraq were in dominant form.
It took Jordan until the 17th minute to muster their first attempt on goal when Mousa Suleiman outran the Iraqi defence down the right, but his attempt from a tight angle was kept out by Ahmad Basil.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Changzhou: With the AFC U23 Championship group stage coming to an end for Groups B and C on Tuesday, the-AFC.com clarifies the possible qualification scenarios ahead of the Matchday Three action.
Group B
Game 1: Thailand (THA) v Palestine (PLE): Changzhou Olympic Sports Center
Game 2: Japan (JPN) v DPR Korea (PRK): Jiangyin Sports Center
Japan were the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals and currently have six points, followed by DPR Korea with four and Palestine with one point. Thailand are eliminated, regardless of the their last result.
THA win + PRK win results in = PRK 7pts, JPN 6pts, THA 3pts, PLE 1pts
THA win + Game 2 draw results in = JPN 7pts, PRK 5pts, THA 3pts, PLE 1pts
THA win + JPN win results in = JPN 9pts, PRK 4pts, THA 3pts, PLE 1pts
Game 1 draw + PRK win results in = PRK 7pts, JPN 6pts, PLE 2pts, THA 1pts
Both games drawn results in = JPN 7pts, PRK 5pts, PLE 2pts, THA 1pts
Game 1 draw + JPN win results in = JPN 9pts, PRK 4pts, PLE 2pts, THA 1pts
PLE win + PRK win results in = PRK 7pts, JPN 6pts, PLE 4pts, THA 0pts
PLE win + Game 2 draw results in = JPN 7 pts, PRK 5pts, PLE 4pts, THA 0pts
PLE win + JPN win results in = JPN 9pts, PRK 4pts^^, PLE 4pts^^, THA 0pts
^ Ranking determined on number of points obtained from group match among the teams (Article 9.3.2.1)
^^ Ranking determined on goal difference from the group matches among the teams (Article 9.3.2.2 and 9.3.2.3). If still equal, yellow and red cards will be calculated (Article 9.3.2.8) or the drawing of lots will take place (Article 9.3.2.9) in the order given. If the drawing of lots is required, it will be at the AFC Headquarters hotel on the same night. The timing will be announced by the AFC, taking into account sufficient time for concerned teams to send representatives.