Australia, Iraq enter the quarterfinals of U23 Asia
UzbekistanAustralia, Iraq respectively defeated Jordan and Kuwait in the last round of Group B on the evening of June 7 to enter the quarterfinals of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship.
Before the last round, Australia and Jordan shared the top of the table with the same four points. Therefore, the confrontation at Lokomotiv field directly affects the tickets of the two teams. The game was also balanced, with each team hitting the target four times.
The first opportunity came in the 13th minute, when Patrick Yazbek poked a slot to let Lachlan Brook break the offside trap to enter the penalty area. But the Australian striker rushed to finish even though there was no Jordan defender in front, and was caught by goalkeeper Al-Fakhouri.
Jordan kept the starting line-up that beat Kuwait 1-0 in the second round. But they received a big loss when Mohamad Aburiziq, the striker who scored the first two legs, was injured and had to make way for Hamza Al Saifi in the 24th minute.
This change affected Jordan’s play, and they only sped up the last minutes of the first half. In the 38th minute, Khaled Sayaheen forced goalkeeper Joe Gauci to show his talent for the first time. The best opportunity came in the first minute of injury time, when Amin Al Shanaina cornered a corner for captain Hadi Alhourani to hit the ground diagonally. But Gauci still managed to fly and catch the ball.
Ramy Najjarine dribbled past Jordan’s defense in the Group B match of the Asian U23 Championship on the evening of June 7. Image: AFC
The difference came in the 56th minute, when Alou Kuol fell after a collision with Alhourani and brought a penalty for Australia. On the 11m mark, Najjarine finished the stretch to the right corner, unable to win against Al-Fakhouri. With the help of VAR, the referee determined that goalkeeper Jordan left the line early and gave Australia a penalty kick. This time, Najjarine still kicks to the right corner. Al-Fakhouri continued to guess in the right direction, but couldn’t get his hands on the ball.
Australia nearly doubled the lead in the 72nd minute, but Al-Fakhouri flew in an unbelievable save from Cameron Peupion’s free-kick, before rolling out to save Patrick Wood’s back-kick.
Hope was rekindled with Jordan in the 79th minute, when Hammond and Al Jazar collided without the ball in the middle of the field. After going to the touchline to review the situation, the referee showed a red card directly to Hammond, and warned Al Jazar. However, the advantage over the person who did not help Jordan find the equalizer in the remaining minutes.
Hammond (No. 22) received a red card from the 79th minute, but Jordan did not take advantage of the man to earn points. Image: AFC
In the match at the same time, Kuwait – the team that had no chance to enter the quarter-finals – suddenly opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Al Mubailish dropped the ball to let Al Rasheedi penetrate the penalty area and then volleyed the ball to the corner near the net of Iraq. This is also Kuwait’s only shot on target in this match. They also missed the opportunity to double the lead in the 28th minute, when Al Rasheedi kicked the penalty box over the bar.
This is the turning point that helps Iraq wake up and go upstream. Mohammed equalized at the end of the first half, then Ogaili and Ghuraibawi respectively scored in the second half to seal a 3-1 victory for Iraq.
Kuwait’s defense in close proximity to Hasan Abdulkareem (No. 10) of Iraq. Image: AFC
With these results, Australia with seven points and Iraq with five points into the quarterfinals. Australia will meet the second team of Group B, and Iraq will meet the host Uzbekistan – the team that will definitely continue with the top of Group B. Australia’s opponent will be determined after the last round of Group A, when Uzbekistan meets Iran, and Qatar meets Turkmenistan, taking place at 0:00 on June 8, Hanoi time.
Hong Duy
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
