Defeating Saudi Arabia, U23 Uzbekistan met U23 Indonesia in the semi-finals

These are two teams that are considered candidates for the championship. U23 Saudi Arabia and U23 Uzbekistan once met each other in the final of the 2022 Asian U23 Championship. At that time, U23 Saudi Arabia won 2-0 to be crowned champion.

With many fates and the same class of the two teams, the match is expected to be attractive and fiery. But developments in the first half caused a lot of disappointment. Both U23 Uzbekistan and U23 Saudi Arabia played too cautiously, not taking risks to attack while the defense was always on alert.

The match also broke down many times due to continuous fouls by players on both sides. Until more than 30 minutes of play, there was only 1 shot created.

The goal only came in extra time when the Saudi Arabian defense lost the ball dangerously. U23 Uzbekistan’s simple deployment opens up space for Norchaev. The player wearing shirt number 19 calmly eliminated goalkeeper Al Absi to open the score.

In the second half, U23 Saudi Arabia played more urgently. They tried to push the formation up, using speed on the wings to create space. However, this style of play is not effective when Uzbekistan’s U23 defense plays focused and aggressive.

At the same time, impatience also caused Saudi Arabia’s players to make mistakes and pay the price. Including Aiman ​​Yahya’s swinging leg that hit the opponent’s face, causing him to receive a second yellow card and leave the field in the 70th minute.

Then, it was the turn of the Saudi Arabian defense to play unfocused and leave space for Bo’riyev to shoot from long range. Goalkeeper Al Absi could only push this shot but was helpless before Rahmonaliyev’s header increased the score to 2-0 in the 84th minute.

In the remaining time, U23 Saudi Arabia appeared to be in decline. Playing without players also prevents them from creating pressure to score.

In the end, Uzbekistan U23 turned Saudi Arabia into the former king with a 2-0 victory. Their opponent in the semi-finals of the 2024 U23 Asian Championship is U23 Indonesia, the team that has caused many surprises up to this point.