Uzbekistan's men's soccer team beat Saudi Arabia's men's soccer team 2-0 in the last eight of the U17 Asian Cup to make it into the quarterfinals of the tournament. This means that they will enter the final round of the World Youth Championship again after 10 years. After the match, the entire team was in a state of ecstasy, as if they had won the championship.
Saudi Arabia, a veteran of Asian soccer, has won the Asian Cup three times and earned U17 World Junior glory. In recent years, with the resurgence of soccer standards, Saudi Arabia has climbed to the top five in Asia.
In this year's Asian Junior Championship, Saudi Arabia beat Australia, Tajikistan and the Chinese men's soccer team in quick succession to finish first for the third consecutive game. Now, their ambitious return to the World Junior Championships begins with the hurdle of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan last played in the World Junior Championships in 2013, a decade ago.
It is worth noting that the Uzbekistan men's soccer team has won the Asian Cup in the U23 and U20 age groups, and now they are eager to repeat their success in the U17 age group.
Facing the title favorite Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan was not favored before the match, after all, there is a clear difference in the strength of the two teams. Saudi Arabia won all three matches in the group stage and was in excellent form. However, Uzbekistan showed excellent defense in the match and did not give Saudi Arabia too many chances to attack.
As the match came to an end, Uzbekistan suddenly broke the deadlock. A shot past the Saudi goalkeeper made the score 1-0, and only 5 minutes later, the Saudi defense failed again. In the end, Uzbekistan won 2-0, completing the comeback.
After the match, the entire Uzbekistan team celebrated wildly, with players from the bench rushing onto the pitch and the coaching team embracing and celebrating, with head coach Rakhmatullayev in tears of excitement.
The win not only puts Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals of the tournament, but also earns them a spot in the 2023 World Junior Championships, the last team to advance. Statistically, the last time Uzbekistan participated in the World Junior Championships was in 2013, when they advanced to the knockout stage for the first time, and it has now been a decade of waiting.
With Uzbekistan advancing, the quarterfinals of this year's Asian Cup were revealed, with Uzbekistan set to play South Korea, while Japan will face Iran.
In contrast, the U17 Chinese men's soccer team coached by Yang Chen had a dismal performance in the group stage, with one draw and two losses in three matches, and eventually finished at the bottom of the group.
