On May 3, Beijing time, in the third place match of the U23 Asian Cup, the Iraq National Olympic Games played against the Indonesian National Olympic Games. Jenner took the lead, Tahsin equalised with a hammer and Jashim scored the winner in extra time to give Iraq a 2-1 win over Indonesia to qualify for the men's final for the sixth Olympic Games, where Indonesia will face Guinea in the play-offs for the last place in the men's football team in Paris.
The two teams are quite dark horses in this tournament, Iraq eliminated the defending champion Saudi Arabia, Indonesia upset Australia in the group stage, and sent away the favorite South Korea in the knockout round. Iraq has qualified for the men's finals five times, with the last time they qualified for the Olympics in 2016. Indonesia only competed in the men's football tournament at the 1956 Olympics, when there was no age limit. For the first time in history, the two sides met for the first time, with the winner securing the last place to qualify directly for the Paris Olympics.
Iraq opened the game with a corner kick in the first offensive, but the long ball attack was easily cleared by Indonesia, Indonesia launched an attack on the left side, sent the ball into the middle with a long diagonal pass, Struck rushed out of the defensive line in the penalty area to get the ball and push the ball was saved, the linesman signaled offside. Iraq continued to press up front, and Ahmed changed direction on the left side in succession, passing two people into the penalty area and his volley was blocked. Then Mundad's low shot from the top of the arc was saved by the goalkeeper. Indonesia accelerated counterattacks and frequently hit the Iraqi defense, Suleiman kicked a long shot from outside the penalty area, and Ferdinand rolled the ball diagonally from a set-piece in front of the penalty area and was held by the goalkeeper to grab the line. In the first 10 minutes, both sides had two shots on goal and one on target.
8. The two sides launched an offensive posture, and Rida shot from outside the penalty area was held by the Indonesian goalkeeper. In the 17th minute, Al Khan threw the ball into the penalty area and was cleared, and Nathan's volley was blocked by the Iraqi central defender. Indonesia's tactical corner kick was taken, and Jenner burst forward with a cold shot through the near corner to take the lead, and Indonesia took the lead and was one step closer to the Olympics.
Iraq were desperate to regain their inferiority and fierce attack, and Jashim's curling shot from outside the box was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 27th minute, Nihad sent a long corner kick into the penalty area, the Indonesian goalkeeper went out to clear the ball and lost position, Tahsin received Nehad's header in front of the goal line and headed it into the empty goal.
The two sides picked up the tempo, pushed forward with conciseness and efficiency, and tried to create quick chances on goal. Indonesia performed better in the details of the defensive attack, with a quick and accurate kick, running without the ball in place, and quickly creating a set-piece on the left side of the front, Suleiman sent a long pass, and Haberner grabbed a header in the small penalty area and hit the goal slightly wide. Iraq's breakthroughs and crosses on the flanks put constant pressure on the Indonesian defence, and Jashim and Nehad had a number of strong long-range shots on both flanks with individual ability that were saved by Indonesia's tight defence. Indonesia had slightly less possession in the half, but they had eight shots on goal with four on target. Indonesia had 5 shots on goal with 2 on target, and the goal was more efficient.
Indonesia returned to the second half with a slightly conservative approach and counter-attacked. Iraq had no better way to defend closely, and Jashim missed again with a long-range shot. The tempo of the game also slowed down, and it was difficult for both sides to create more dangerous chances on goal than they did in the first half. In the 72nd minute, the Iraqi midfielder counterattacked with a direct pass, Indonesia's attack error caused the emptiness in front of the goal, Nihad singled out the defender and rushed into the penalty area with the ball, and Nathan fell behind the goal line in time to clear the rescue.
In the final stage, both sides picked up again, and Indonesia attacked continuously up front but did not threaten. Iraq were sharper on the counter-attack, missing two chances in stoppage time, Nehad's counter-attacking fast-break push was blocked by the goalkeeper, and Jashim's set-piece long ball connected to Tahsin's header high in front of goal. The two teams drew 1-1 in regulation time.
In the 96th minute, Montah's long pass penetrated the defense, and Jahim rushed into the penalty area from an offside position between the two central defenders to score a low shot to overtake the score. In the end, Iraq defeated Indonesia 2-1 to secure a ticket to the Paris Olympics.