Year in Review - AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024

Kuala Lumpur: Japan became the first team to emerge two-time champions after lifting the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™ title in May.

It was a well deserved triumph for Go Oiwa's side as they added the title to the one won in 2016 while runners-up Uzbekistan and third-placed Iraq joined them in qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Group Stage

Hosts Qatar and tournament debutants Indonesia advanced to the knockout stage from Group A.

Qatar opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat of Indonesia, which was followed by a 2-1 victory over Jordan. The hosts concluded their group stage campaign with a 0-0 draw with Australia.

Indonesia bounced back from their opening match defeat to beat Australia 1-0 and confirmed their knockout stage spot with an impressive 4-1 win over Jordan.

Former winners Korea Republic and Japan were the teams to advance from Group B, with both sides confirming their spots with a match to spare.

They opened their respective campaigns with 1-0 wins, Korea Republic beat United Arab Emirates while Japan defeated China PR.

#AFCU23 | Group B : Japan 0 - 1 Korea Republic

With both sides then registering 2-0 victories - Korea Republic against China PR and Japan over United Arab Emirates - they headed into Matchday Three with the Group B top spot at stake with Kim Min-woo's 75th minute header settling the contest in Korea Republic's favour.

Group C was a tightly contested affair with all four teams in the running for the knockout stage up till Matchday Three.

Thailand kicked off their campaign with a stunning 2-0 win over Iraq while defending champions Saudi Arabia defeated Tajikistan 4-2.

Saudi Arabia were at their best on Matchday Two, cruising to a 5-0 victory against Thailand while Iraq bounced back from their opening day loss to beat Tajikistan 4-2.

#AFCU23 | Group C : Saudi Arabia 1 - 2 Iraq

All four teams headed into the final matchday with qualification to the knockout stage still possible but it was Iraq who impressed with a 2-1 defeat of Saudi Arabia, which meant they topped the group ahead of their West Asian rivals.

Thailand's hopes of advancing were dashed by a 1-0 defeat to Tajikistan, with the Central Asian side finishing third in the group.

#AFCU23 | Group D : Uzbekistan 3 - 0 Vietnam

Uzbekistan were the dominant side in Group D from the opening match, defeating Malaysia 2-0.

They were even more impressive on Matchday Two, beating Kuwait 5-0 and closed off their group stage campaign with a 3-0 win over Vietnam.

Despite the defeat to Uzbekistan, Vietnam had confirmed their quarter-final spot with earlier wins over Kuwait (3-1) and Malaysia (2-0).

Quarter-finals

Extra-time goals from Mao Hosoya and Kotaro Uchino ensured Japan squeezed into the semi-finals past 10-man Qatar with a 4-2 win.

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 goalkeeper 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 but 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.

#AFCU23 | Q-Final : Korea Republic 2 - 2 (PSO 10 - 11) Indonesia

Debutants Indonesia advanced to the semi-finals after a marathon 11-10 penalty shootout win over Korea Republic, with the tie having finished 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Indonesia took the lead in the 15th minute through Rafael Struick but Komang Teguh's own goal restored parity.

Struick, however, struck again deep into first half stoppage time for Indonesia to regain the advantage.

Korea Republic suffered a blow when Lee Young-jun was shown the red card but their perseverance saw them drawing level through Jeong Sang-bin in the 84th minute.

Neither side was able to find the net again with Pratama Arhan then scoring the decisive penalty to take Indonesia into the semi-finals.

#AFCU23 | Q-Final : Uzbekistan 2 - 0 Saudi Arabia

Uzbekistan dethroned 10-man Saudi Arabia to book their spot in the semi-finals with a 2-0 win with Khusain Norchaev and Umarali Rakhmonaliev scoring either side of the break to secure the Central Asian side a fourth consecutive semi-final appearance.

Having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 final, Uzbekistan dominated the early proceedings but had to wait till the second minute of first half stoppage time for the opening goal, with Norchaev waltzing past a defender before slotting past goalkeeper Mohammed Al Absi.

Saudi Arabia upped their tempo in the second half but suffered a blow when Aiman Yahya was sent off for a second yellow card in the 70th minute, with Uzbekistan maximising their one-man advantage through Rakhmonaliev's 84th minute goal.

The hugely promising Ali Jasim struck the winner from the penalty spot as Iraq edged Vietnam 1-0 to advance to the semi-finals.

With little separating the two sides, the decisive touch was supplied by Jasim in the 64th minute to give Iraq their first semi-final appearance since the 2016 edition.

Semi-finals

Uzbekistan advanced to their third final in four editions with a 2-0 win over Indonesia in their last four tie with the also confirming a first ever appearance at the Olympic Games for Uzbekistan.

Having seen their first half dominance fail to translate into goals, Uzbekistan escaped from going behind after a VAR review ruled out Muhammad Ferrari's 61st minute effort for an offside in the buildup to the move.

Having survived the scare, Uzbekistan took the lead seven minutes later when Muhammadkodir Hamraliev produced an inch perfect cross from the right that was turned in by Khusain Norchaev.

#AFCU23 | S-Final : Indonesia 0 - 2 Uzbekistan

Indonesia’s hopes of a comeback suffered a setback in the 84th minute after Rizky Ridho was sent off for a high foot challenge on Jasurbek Jaloliddinov following a VAR review.

From the ensuing free-kick, Uzbekistan doubled their lead after goalkeeper Ernando Ari could only parry Jaloliddinov’s powerfully struck effort, with Abdukhodir Khusanov’s header from the rebound hitting the post.

In the scramble to clear the danger, Pratama Arhan and his keeper got in each other’s way as the Indonesian left-back sent the ball into the net to confirm Uzbekistan's win.

First half goals from Mao Hosoya and Ryotaro Araki earned Japan a 2-0 win over Iraq that also sealed the nation’s spot at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Japan, the 2016 champions, took the lead as the game approached the half hour mark with Joel Fujita’s ball down the middle exquisitely controlled by Hosoya with his first touch with the striker then turning - with Zaid Tahseen on his back - to show great balance and roll his right-footed shot into the corner beyond goalkeeper Hussein Hasan.

The second came with three minutes remaining in the half, and it was Fujita who was again at the heart of the move. Ayumu Ohata used his body strength to spin past Ali Basim and cut inside to feed Fujita, whose first time through ball was stroked home by a gleeful Araki as Japan confirmed an eighth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games.

Third-place Playoff

Iraq sealed a sixth appearance at the Olympic Games with a 2-1 win over Indonesia in third-place playoff.

Jasim sparked wild celebrations at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium with a clinical finish in the 96th minute to complete Iraq’s comeback and break Indonesia’s hearts.

#AFCU23 | 3rd Place Playoff - Iraq 2 - 1 Indonesia

It was a dramatic end to a pulsating affair that saw the Southeast Asians break the deadlock in the 19th minute through Ivar Jenner, who collected a weak clearance before firing through a crowd of bodies into the bottom right corner from 25 metres.

Stung into action, Iraq upped their tempo and drew level six minutes later when goalkeeper Ernando Eri's punched clearance off a corner fell only as far as Nihad Mohammed, who knocked the loose ball back across goal for Zaid Tahseen to head into the open net from unmissable range.

Both sides had opportunities to go ahead but it took until the sixth minute of extra time for the next goal, with the livewire Jasim running onto Muntadher Mohammed’s exquisite ball over the top before lashing it through Ernando’s legs for the goal which confirmed Iraq's Paris Olympics ticket.

Final

Substitute Fuki Yamada struck in the 91st minute and Leo Kokubo made a late penalty save to earn Japan a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan.

Yamada, introduced from the bench with 18 minutes remaining, struck into the bottom corner of Abduvakhid Nematov’s goal before Kokubo kept out Umarali Rakhmonaliev’s spot-kick nine minutes later to earn Japan their second title.

Japan captain Joel Fujita was named the Most Valuable Player while Iraq's Ali Jasim won the Top Scorer award. Uzbekistan's Abduvakhid, who kept four clean sheets throughout the campaign, won the Best Goalkeeper award.

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