2016 AFC U-23 Championship Day 8 Recap

PFDC – DOHA, All the excitement took place today in Group B as a spot in the quarterfinals was up for grabs between Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Thailand. In Group C, South Korea and Iraq would play for positioning while Uzbekistan and Yemen played for pride.

Group B

Saudi Arabia v Japan

Entering today’s matches, Japan had already clinched first place in Group B while Saudi Arabia knew that a win would ensure a place in the quarterfinals. Japan did not have something to play for but they were in no mood to help Saudi Arabia at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.

Japan opened the scoring through Ryota Ohshima at the half hour mark. Ohshima blasted a laser from thirty yards out. Saudi Arabian keeper Ahmad Al-Harbi had no chance to make a stop.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Takumi Minamino held onto the ball very well at the top of the Saudi penalty area and laid off the perfect pass that was one-timed by Ideguchi Yosuke to put the Blue Samuari in front 2-0.

Saudi Arabia were awarded a questionable penalty kick three minutes later. The penalty shot was scored by Abdullah Madu as Japanese keeper Daichi Sugimoto guessed wrong.

The game ended in a 2-1 victory for Japan. So what did this mean for Saudi Arabia? Keep reading to find out!

North Korea v Thailand

At the Grand Hamad Stadium, North Korea took on Thailand while Japan was playing Saudi Arabia simultaneously; as is common with the final legs of group play in tournaments. The winner between North Korea and Thailand would advance to the quarterfinals if Saudi Arabia failed to beat Japan.

North Korea got on the scoreboard in the 17th minute when Ri Un-chol sent in a high ball from the right that made it to no-man’s land. Thai keeper Somporn Yos and defender Adison Promrak tried to get the ball to safety but North Korean forward Kim Yong-il got his head on the ball first as he scored his second goal of the tournament to give North Korea a 1-0 lead. In what seems to be very common in this tournament, Kim Yong-il’s header brushed the bottom of the crossbar before it went into the net. It definitely is true that this is a game of inches (centimeters, depending on where you live).

Thirteen minutes later at the other end of the field, this time it was the North Koreans that had trouble clearing the ball out of their own penalty area. Thai defender Perapat Notechaiya’s cross from the left deflected off North Korean captain Jang Kuk-chol and was tapped in by Narubadin Weerawatnodom.

The North Koreans regained the lead in the 44th minute. A long free kick was headed at the top of the penalty area by Jang Kuk-chol. The Thais were caught off-guard as the ball made its way deep into the penalty area where Yun Il-gwang half-volleyed the ball towards the goal and Thai midfielder Thossawat Limwanasa headed the ball into the net to register an own goal. Limwanasa did what he could to keep the ball out but it did not matter as North Korea took a 2-1 lead into the half.

Just like the match against Saudi Arabia, Thailand refused to give up. The Thai efforts paid off when captain Chanathip Songkrasin leveled the scores with a blast from outside the penalty area to tie the match at 2-2 in the 78th minute. Songkrasin’s goal set the stage for a dramatic finish as the Thai supporters erupted in excitment.

The North Koreans did all they could to hold onto the victory for the whole second half knowing that the Saudis were losing to Japan. The match ended in a 2-2 tie. At the final whistle the North Korean players looked drained.

The results from both matches meant that Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Thailand all finished with identical records of two draws and one loss equaling two points. On the surface, by looking at the final group standings, it would appear that a tiebreaker would have to decide the fate of Saudi Arabia and North Korea because they have identical records. However, in a situation like this where three teams have the same amount of points, the points earned and goals scored are taken into consideration among the three teams only. Therefore the results of the three teams against Japan would not be factored into the tiebreaker of the deciding the best of the three teams.

North Korea scored five goals and allowed five goals when combining their results against Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Saudi Arabia scored four goals and allowed four goals while Thailand scored three goals and allowed three goals. North Korea emerged as the lucky team to make it to the quarterfinals where they will face the hosts and heavy favorites Qatar.

Group C

Iraq v South Korea

At the Grand Hamad Stadium, a win or tie for South Korea would clinch the top spot in Group C. Kim Hyun put the South Koreans in the lead in the 22nd minute while the Iraqis would finally equalize in the 92nd minute through Amjed Waleed Hussein to end the game in a 1-1 tie. South Korea will take on the runner-up from Group D and Iraq will face the winner of Group D in the quarterfinals.

Uzbekistan v Yemen

The Uzbeks earned a 3-1 victory over Yemen at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium. Javokhir Sokhibov opened the scoring in the 18th minute when he pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area.

Captain Igor Sergeev extended Uzbekistan’s lead in the 68th minute when he took advantage of Yemeni keeper Al-Harsh being out of position by heading in a cross.

The Yemenis finally got their first goal of the tournament. But what a goal it was! Uzbek keeper Abdumavlon Abduljalilov was off his line and seventeen year-old forward Ahmed Al-Sarori took a chance by shooting from nearly forty yards out. Abduljalilov tried to keep it out but it was quite an amazing goal. The Yemenis have not been very impressive in this tournament but they finally had something to cheer about in the 82nd minute.

Jaloliddin Masharipov added an excellent solo effort in the 93rd minute to give Uzbekistan a 3-1 win.

Image courtesy of the-afc.com