Early morning of February 4, the final team to enter the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup was revealed. The home team Qatar met Uzbekistan in the most exciting match of the quarter-finals. With home field advantage, Almoez Ali and his teammates rushed to attack their opponents and quickly scored the opening goal.
In the 27th minute, Utkir Usupov scored an own goal and put Uzbekistan behind. The Central Asian representative played with determination and scored the equalizer in the 59th minute thanks to Hamrobekov.
In more than 30 minutes of extra time, the two teams failed to score and entered a penalty shootout. The Qatar team was more courageous and won with a score of 3-2.
South Korea meets Jordan in the semi-finals.
Qatar's opponent in the semi-finals is Iran - a team considered a candidate for the championship of the 2023 Asian Cup. Iran played impressively and won 2-1 against Japan. The match between Qatar and Iran is considered attractive and promises to bring many unpredictable scenarios.
Meanwhile, the Korean team had to play extra time in two consecutive matches against strong opponents such as Saudi Arabia and Australia. In the semi-finals, coach Jurgen Klinsmann and his team met the weakest team among the four names that made it to the semi-finals, Jordan.
In the group stage, Jordan and South Korea were in Group E. However, this was a group that witnessed great calculations. The South Korean team and the Jordan team drew 2-2 in the second match and had 4 points. Already assured of their place in the next round, Jordan played sparingly so that Bahrain could win in the final match.
This result caused Jordan to lose the top spot in the group but did not have to face strong teams like Japan and Saudi Arabia. The ticket to the semi-finals is proof of the West Asian team's precise steps.
On the Korean side, the team probably needs to reduce its dependence on the duo Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in. The Korean team's playing style is not really convincing but they have the brilliance of their stars.
Asian Cup 2023 semi-final schedule:
22:00 February 6: Jordan - South Korea
22:00 February 7: Qatar - Iran
Mai Phuong
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