South Korea and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday claimed two of Asia’s three places at the Tokyo Games by reaching the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship final.
South Korea beat Australia 2-0, a victory that was more comprehensive than the score line suggests, while Saudi Arabia edged past Uzbekistan 1-0 to book their place at the Olympics for the first time since 1996.
Despite dominating against Graham Arnold’s side, South Korea coach Kim Hak-bum’s impressive side had to wait until 11 minutes into the second half before opening the scoring, with Kim Dae-won converting from close range after Lee You-hyeon’s initial shot came back off the post.
Lee Dong-gyeong added a second 20 minutes later to earn South Korea one of the three places available for the continent at the Tokyo Games, which are to be held in July and August, and maintain the country’s run of qualifying for every Olympics since 1988.
Saudi Arabia booked their berth in Tokyo with the victory over Uzbekistan in the opening semi-final.
Nasser al-Omran’s long-range strike took a deflection off Abdullah al-Hamdan and wrong-footed Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvakid Nematov before nestling in the net.
Saudi Arabia are to face South Korea in the final on Sunday, while Uzbekistan and Australia are to meet tomorrow, with the winner taking the continent’s third and final place at the Olympics.
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