Japan and Uzbekistan Reach the AFC U23 Asian Cup Final and Confirm Their Olympic Berths - Latest Global News
Japan and Uzbekistan reach the AFC U23 Asian Cup final and confirm their Olympic berths

Japan and Uzbekistan Reach the AFC U23 Asian Cup Final and Confirm Their Olympic Berths

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Indonesia and Iraq will battle it out for the last remaining Olympic football spot in the bronze medal game at the U23 Asian Cup.

Japan and Uzbekistan will meet in the final of the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup in Qatar after securing 2-0 victories over Iraq and Indonesia in their respective semi-finals.

By reaching the final, both countries have also secured qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

First-half goals from Mao Hosoya and Ryotaro Araki were enough to give Japan a comfortable victory over Iraq in the second semi-final at Doha’s Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Monday.

Hosoya gave the 2016 champions the lead in the 28th minute and Araki doubled the lead 14 minutes later in a confident performance from Go Oiwa’s side, with captain Joel Fujita at the center of a dominant display.

The Japanese will face Timur Kapadze’s Uzbekistan in the final on Friday at the same venue.

The last remaining Olympic football spot from the Asian region will be decided on Thursday in the bronze medal game between the two defeated semi-finalists Iraq and Indonesia.

The Samurai Blue from the Far East were in top form in the second semi-final against their West Asian opponents, with Fujita taking the lead.

The result could have been different if Japan had not been denied several times by Iraqi goalkeeper Hussein Hasan.

As the game continued 2-0 after half-time, Ali Jasim appeared determined to score as Iraq tried to get back into the game but were thwarted by the Japanese defense.

Japan continued to apply pressure in the second half but failed to contribute to the result.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan ended Indonesia’s inspiring run at the tournament with another strong performance in the semi-finals.

Khusayin Norchaev opened the scoring for the Central Asian country in the 68th minute and an own goal from Pratama Arhan four minutes from time sealed the fate of the football-mad Southeast Asian country.

They have another chance to qualify for the Olympics when they face Iraq in the bronze medal game on Thursday.

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