The East Asians campaign ended on Saturday after they fell to a 6-3 defeat to Indonesia, having lost their Group D opener to Iraq 5-2 on Friday but Chen said the experience would help his team develop their budding futsal careers.

The defeat ended Chinese Taipei's campaign as they had lost to 2017 runners-up Iraq 5-2 in their opening tie on Friday. Indonesia will now play Iraq on Sunday to decide the Group D winners.

Knowing they had to win to keep their hopes alive, Chinese Taipei started on the front foot but less than 90 seconds into the match, Indonesia claimed first blood through Mohammad Afif Rizky’s effort, who displayed some impressive dribbling skills before beating Sun Chi-Yuan from outside the box.

The second edition of the AFC U-20 Championship kicked off in spectacular fashion, with both teams employing a high-tempo strategy, as Chinese Taipei matched 2017 runners-up Iraq’s intensity in the opening minutes.

Iraq’s Sabtain Abbas Al Challabi had the first chance of the game when he lost his marker on the right flank and let loose a shot that missed the upright by mere inches.

However, it was his opposite number, Huang Yu-Wei, who opened the scoring in the third minute with a swift strike from near the second penalty spot into the bottom right corner.

The win meant Afghanistan are through to the quarter-finals and will face hosts Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday for the battle for the top spot, while Hong Kong bow out from the tournament.

Afghanistan were in total control in the opening minutes, as they garnered the lion’s share of possession and forced Hong Kong goalkeeper Justin Law Ho Yeung into early action, but the East Asian defence held firm.

Lebanon will play their final Group B tie against Thailand on Sunday to determine the group winners.

There was much more on the line for Kyrgyz Republic, who were fighting to keep their campaign alive after their 4-2 loss to Thailand in the group opener on Friday.

The Central Asians’ motivation was strong and it reflected in their performance on the court, as Mamatzia Zholdoshov opened the scoring in the first minute of the match, his second of the tournament.

Vietnam kicked off their campaign on an attacking foot, piling on the pressure but failed to make early inroads.

Tajikistan, who lost 3-1 to Japan in their opener on Friday, managed to cope with the early pressure as they looked to keep their hopes alive.

Thawatchai was instrumental in Thailand’s win on Friday, as he broke the stalemate in the fifth minute, before Kyrgyz scored two back-to-back goals a few minutes later.

However, Thawatchai struck again three minutes from the half-time break to level the score.