AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024

Hosoya slipped the ball under substitute goalkeeper Ali Korayem to break Qatar’s resistance 11 minutes into extra-time and Uchino added the fourth with seven minutes left as Go Oiwa’s side moved a step closer to claiming the title.

Fuki Yamada had given Japan a second minute lead before Ahmed Al Rawi levelled with a superb header 22 minutes later, the Qataris then shrugging off Yousef Abdullah’s 41st minute red card to go in front four minutes into the second half through Jassem Gaber.

But Seiji Kimura’s 67th minute header restored parity while Hosoya and Uchino struck late to take their nation into the last four as the Japanese seek to maintain their record of qualifying for every Olympic Games since 1996.

Encouraged by his side’s improvement in the past two matches that saw them top Group C ahead of defending champions Saudi Arabia, Shenaishil is ready to assume the favourites tag but admits that a different strategy will be needed to combat Vietnam’s strengths.

The tie is a rematch of the 2022 final, where Saudi Arabia emerged victorious, setting the stage for an intense game with Uzbekistan head coach Timur Kapadze confident of turning the tables after a dominant showing to top Group D.

The Iraqi captain, who plays his club football in the Iran Pro League with Mes Rasfanjan, is confident that his side have learnt from their opening match defeat to Thailand and will not repeat the same mistakes against Vietnam.

It will be a repeat of the 2022 final at the Khalifa International Stadium, with Saudi Arabia - powered by eight players who were part of their title-winning squad - determined to go all the way at Qatar 2024.

Ahead of the quarter-final action which kicks off on Thursday, the-AFC.com takes a look at some key facts and figures from the exciting group stage.

The 2020 champions won all three of their Group B matches without conceding a single goal to progress to the knockout stage, which maintained their status as the only team in all six editions of the tournament to qualify from the group stage at every iteration.

Korea Republic have also reached the final four on four previous occasions, the most of any team, and Hwang asserted that they are ready to start on a clean slate at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.

Al Rawi scored in the hosts’ win over Indonesia in the tournament opener but played no part in the clashes with Jordan or Australia as Qatar won Group A and Vale remained coy about the 22-year-old's availability for the clash with Go Oiwa’s side.

The Belgium-based Fujita captained the team in their opening 1-0 win over China PR but has not started since as Oiwa has given the majority of his squad the opportunity to feature in the group phase, with the Japanese advancing as second place finishers from Group B.

But with the competition now in the knockout phase and the prospect of three intense games over the next 10 days for the teams that feature in the final on May 3, Fujita believes the Japanese are ready for the task ahead.

The Southeast Asians have enjoyed a dream run on their tournament debut so far by recovering impressively from defeat in their opening match to clinch two straight wins in a row in Group A.

A gritty 1-0 success over Australia was followed by a dominant 4-1 triumph against Jordan that sealed their place in the last eight and captain Rizky Ridho asserted that the team is not feeling weighed down by expectations ahead of another big match.