The Saudi youth team succeeded in securing its place in the final of the AFC U-23 Championship, following defeating Australia in the semi-finals.
The Saudi national team qualified for the final match of the AFC U-23 Championship, following beating its Australian counterpart 2-0 in the semi-final match that took place on Wednesday followingnoon, at the central stadium of Pakhtakor in Uzbekistan.
The Saudi team advanced in the result following only 20 minutes from the start of the match thanks to a goal scored by Hussein Al-Essa, following an industry by Firas Al-Braikan.
Ayman Yahya added the second goal in the 72nd minute, which also came following an industry from Al-Berikan.
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The match saw two penalty kicks missed for each team, as Saudi goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Al-Shamri saved an Australian penalty kick in the 90+7 minute, while Abdullah Al-Radeef missed a penalty kick for “Shabab Al-Akhdar” in the 90+12 minute.
The Australian team was forced to complete the match with ten men from the 37th minute, following its player Guy Rich Bagolio received a direct red card, following a violent intervention.
The Saudi team qualified for the third time to the final of the AFC U-23 Championship, following the 2013 and 2020, but it had never won the title before.
The Saudi team performed very well defensively, keeping a clean sheet for the fifth consecutive match in the tournament so far.
After qualifying for the final match, the Saudi team is waiting to get to know the second party in the final, as the match between Uzbekistan and Japan is scheduled to take place in the other semi-final, later in the day.