The quarter-finals of the U23 Asian Cup staged a big drama, with the defending champion Saudi Arabia and the strong rival Uzbekistan meeting in advance, staging a battle of revenge and honor. Saudi Arabia easily hit 9 goals in the group stage and performed strongly, but exposed the Achilles' heel in defense. Uzbekistan, on the other hand, won all three of their matches, showing dominance and tight defense. This match is not only a battle of technology and tactics, but also a battle of honor between the two teams, with Uzbekistan eager to wash away the shame of losing in the last final, and Saudi Arabia hoping to maintain its championship glory.
The opening whistle blew and the players of both teams rushed to the center of the pitch like arrows off the string. As soon as the game began, the atmosphere was already boiling point. The ball at the feet of the Uzbek players seemed to have life, quickly circling under everyone's feet, and their passes were fast and accurate, which seemed to be particularly tacit. Not to be outdone, the Saudis were eager to break down their opponents' defences in the hope of breaking the deadlock early.
As the game progressed, Uzbekistan's dominance of possession gradually emerged. Their playmaker, Azmov, was particularly prominent, with several pinpoint long balls nearly collapsing the Saudi defence. The Saudis, while slightly inferior in attack, were very aggressive in their pressing, creating a threat on several occasions with quick counter-attacks from midfield.
Entering the second half, Uzbekistan continued to increase its offensive. Finally, in the 47th minute, their hard work paid off. After a clever wide break, the ball was passed into the box, and Kusa was clever enough to grab the first point and fired a low shot that slid into the back of the net to open the scoring for Uzbekistan. The cheers of the Saudi fans were suddenly suppressed, while the supporters of Uzbekistan were thunderous.
The backward Saudis did not give up, they began to move forward more aggressively. In particular, their winger Ali frequently uses his personal skills to break through on the flanks in an attempt to create opportunities for the team. Their midfielders have also started to try more long-range shots, hoping to find a break from Uzbekistan's bucket formation. However, Uzbekistan's defence was very stubborn and they gave the Saudis almost zero shots on goal.
As the minutes ticked by, the Saudi team's attack became more and more urgent, while Uzbekistan began to take advantage of the opponent's offensive space and launch a quick counterattack. In the 84th minute, in a quick counterattack, Uzbekistan's striker Umali received a pass from his teammates in the penalty area, calmly adjusted, and fired a precise low shot, the ball flew into the bottom of the opponent's net, rewriting the score to 2-0.
Uzbek fans were already celebrating the victory, while Saudi fans were relatively silent, disappointed but still cheering on their team. The Saudi players on the pitch were fighting hard despite their physical exhaustion, trying to find at least one chance to score.
With the referee's final whistle, Uzbekistan won the quarter-final with a score of 2-0 and successfully advanced to the semi-finals. The Uzbek players and coaching staff on the pitch hugged and celebrated, while the Saudi players looked a little lost, but they encouraged each other and recognized each other's strength and the fairness of the game.
Although the Saudi team stopped there, the fighting spirit and team spirit they showed were also impressive. Uzbekistan's performance proved that they not only have the determination to get revenge, but also the quality to win the entire tournament. Although this wonderful game is over, the excitement and emotion left by the audience cannot be subsided for a long time. In the next matches, we have reason to expect Uzbekistan to continue their wonderful performances and challenge for the title. At the same time, we also hope that Saudi Arabia can learn from this experience and bring more exciting performances in the future.
Disclaimer: The information in this article comes from the Internet, which is not guaranteed to be completely correct and is for reference only.