South Korea and Uzbekistan qualified for the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Championships after victories over Jordan and the United Arab Emirates respectively.
In the game’s early match, South Korea was put to the test by a resilient Jordan side. The East Asians put themselves on the front foot after just 16 minutes when their smartly worked free-kick caused a scramble in the opposing defense, allowing Cho Kyu-seong to score a free header into an open goal and put his side ahead.
However, they were pegged back in the 75th minute when Yazan Abdallah levelled the scoring, punishing the side for a number of missed opportunities.
Thankfully for Korea, Lee Dong-gyeong managed to keep his cool from a free-kick in the fifth minute of additional time and hit an unstoppable strike in at the near post to take his side even closer to securing a place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Meanwhile, at the Thammasat Stadium, Uzbekistan were ruthless in their match against the UAE. After going a goal behind courtesy of Zayed Al Ameri, the White Wolves roared back to score no less than five goals against their hapless opponents to secure a semi-final berth.
Uzbekistan will face a Saudi Arabia side fresh off of eliminating hosts Thailand in the next round, while South Korea and Australia will be vying for a spot in the finals as well.
