Afghanistan have been a formidable team in the second edition of the tournament, and made headlines when they reached their first knockout stage as the Group A runners-up, having beaten Hong Kong and putting up a solid challenge in their 3-2 loss to host nation Islamic Republic of Iran.

They had to dig deep in the quarter-final against Thailand,  emerging 3-2 victors.

In the semi-final against Afghanistan on Thursday, Indonesia came back from a goal down twice to force the game into extra time.

Seyed Hossein Mousavi and Dawood Yousufi then gave the Central Asians a two-goal lead, which compelled the young Garuda to go on the offensive with Muhammad Sanjaya scoring in the final minute to reduce their deficit, but it was too little too late.

It was a match worthy of a final, as it featured two teams with intense rivalry.

Japan, who were making their first semi-final appearance, had a bright start when goalkeeper Tabuchi Hiroshi’s long throw found Takehiro Motoishi in the box, but Takahashi Yudai shot the subsequent pass straight at Mohammadali Niknamtorghabe.

Afghanistan will face the winners of the Islamic Republic of Iran-Japan semi-final, being played later on Thursday, in Saturday's final.

Both sides were making their first appearance in the semi-finals, with Afghanistan maintaining their high tempo style of play to force Indonesia to be on high alert at the Pour Sharifi Indoor Stadium.

Indonesia, however, were far from overawed by Afghanistan’s aggression and the Southeast Asians signalled their intent when Muhammad Rizki Xavier’s shot in the first minute forced goalkeeper Mohammad Javad Safari into action.

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Indonesia 7-5 Vietnam

MATCH REPORT

 

Iran will play Japan in Thursday's semi-final after the East Asians defeated 2017 runners-up Iraq in their last eight tie earlier on Tuesday.

The other semi-final will see Indonesia taking on Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, who have stated their aim is to emerge champions, will play Indonesia in the semi-finals on Thursday.

The match was expected to be a cracker as Afghanistan and Thailand were impressive en route to the knockout stage but it was the Southeast Asians who started the brighter and tested goalkeeper Mohammad Javad Safari in the opening minute.