AAP Soccer

Japan and Uzbekistan qualify for men's Olympic soccer

By AAP Newswire

Apr 30, 2024

Japan U23s — Japan's players pose for a photo after reaching the Olympics via the U23 Asian Cup semi-finals. -AP

Uzbekistan have qualified for men's Olympic soccer after years of near-misses by reaching the Under-23 Asian Cup final.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The Uzbeks beat Indonesia 2-0 in the semi-finals and will face Japan in the final on Friday.

Indonesia knocked out Australia's Olyroos in a group stage topped by hosts Qatar.

Japan, who beat Qatar in extra-time in the quarter-final, 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 play-off to decide the remaining place. The loser will face Guinea in a play-off in May with the last of the 16 places in Paris at stake.

Uzbekistan have 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 play-off 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.

Japan scored twice in the first half to take control against Iraq. Mao Hosoya and Ryotaro Araki scored.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press