Uzbekistan and Japan qualify for men's Olympic soccer by reaching U23 Asian Cup final
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Uzbekistan qualified for men’s Olympic soccer after years of near-misses by reaching the Under-23 Asian Cup final on Monday.
The Uzbeks beat Indonesia 2-0 in the semifinals and will face Japan in the final on Friday.
Japan secured an eighth consecutive Olympic appearance by defeating Iraq 2-1.
The top three teams qualify automatically for the Paris Games and Iraq and Indonesia will meet in Thursday’s playoff to decide the remaining place.
Uzbekistan has had an unlucky run. It won the biennial Asian tournament in the non-Olympic years of 2018 and 2022. In 2020, the team finished fourth, missing out on the Tokyo Games after losing the playoff against Australia.
There was no heartbreak this time. Khusain Norchaev scored midway through the second half and Pratama Arhan conceded an own goal four minutes from the end at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
Related articles
I was 'brokefished' by my friend for £400
I need your help. My friend K has been recently telling our friendship group about how dire his fina2024-05-21IAEA chief stresses further monitoring of Fukushima nuke wastewater discharge
(Xinhua) 14:36, March 13, 2024TOKYO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)2024-05-21Netanyahu, Biden talk over hostages, aid to Gaza
(Xinhua) 13:56, February 12, 2024JERUSALEM, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neta2024-05-21Tkachuk gets 2 goals, Batherson scores in the shootout, and Senators beat Canadiens 5
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk had two goals and an assist, Drake Batherson scored the only go2024-05-21Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Kate Hudson looked like a pro as she performed songs from her new album Glorious for the first time.2024-05-21Coachella: Earthquake shakes SoCal desert during music fest
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — A small earthquake shook the Southern California desert Saturday near Coach2024-05-21
atest comment