South Korea's match against surprise dark horses Indonesia has been the huge surprise of this year's U23 Asian Cup. Indonesia is ranked 134th in the latest FIFA rankings, and can be considered a complete underdog. In contrast, South Korea is ranked 23rd, yet the matchup was incredibly close in what was clearly a very tight matchup. In the end, after 12 rounds of penalty kicks, Indonesia beat South Korea by a thrilling 13-12 aggregate score. This was Indonesia's first appearance in the U23 Asian Cup, but it unexpectedly came out of nowhere to reach the quarterfinals!
The match between Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia was a rematch of the last U23 Asian Cup final. Last time, Saudi Arabia won the title with a 2-0 victory over Uzbekistan. This time, Uzbekistan didn't want to repeat the same mistake and they defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 to get revenge and lock up a spot in the quarterfinals. With back-to-back wins in all competitions, Uzbekistan will move on to a second U23 Asian Cup.
In the end, a ticket to the quarterfinals was pocketed by the West Asian powerhouse Iraq. Facing the dark horse Vietnam, the Iraqi team always took the initiative and never gave their opponents any chances throughout the game, with a clear lead in possession and shots on goal. In the end, with Jassim's penalty kick goal, Iraq defeated Vietnam 1-0, and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the U23 Asian Cup after eight years!
The Chinese men's soccer team was eliminated from the group stage after being placed in the "Group of Death" with Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Despite missing out on the knockout rounds, they beat the UAE 2-1 in the game of honor to finish in ninth place. This young Chinese team has not gone further, but has brought hope to the fans. We are expected to enter the draw as the top team for the next U23 Asian Cup!
Which of these four teams will have the last laugh?
