Uzbekistan's players celebrate their goal yesterday. QNA
Doha, Qatar: Uzbekistan showed they will be a team to be reckoned with in the knockout stage of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 after an emphatic 3-0 win over Vietnam at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.
A first half surge saw Uzbekistan hit the back of the net three times as the 2018 champions concluded their Group D campaign with a perfect nine points.
Alisher Odilov scored a brace with goals in fourth and 40th minute while Ruslanbek Jiyanov (36th minute) was the other goal scorer.
They meet defending champions Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals on Friday while Vietnam, who also advanced despite the defeat, will go up against Iraq.
Meanwhile, Kuwait secured their first-ever win at the AFC U23 Asian Cup after defeating Malaysia 2-1 in their final Qatar 2024 Group D match yesterday.
Both teams had already been eliminated prior to the match but the win for Kuwait allowed them to leave on a high while Malaysia go home without a point for the second successive edition.
Kuwait gained a two-goal lead following goals through Salman Awadhi’s penlaty in 14th minute of added time in first half, and a 60th minute strike by Talal Al Qaisi.
Malaysia, who lost Sheikh Izhan in 45th minute owing to a red card, pulled one back through Haqimi Azim in 63rd minute. Kuwait, who also played with 10 men after Salman Al Awadhi was sent off in 84th minute, held on to pull off a memorable victory.
Meanwhile, kicking off the quarter-final action will be Qatar against 2016 winners Japan tomorrow, with the hosts aiming to win the title for the first time. That will be followed by 2020 champions South Korea facing debutants Indonesia at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Besides the coveted trophy, the top three teams will qualify for the Paris Olympics with the fourth-placed side to face African side Guinea in a playoff for a possible fourth slot at the 2024 Games.
