DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Uzbekistan qualified for men’s Olympic soccer after years of near-misses by reaching the Under-23 Asian Cup final on Monday.
The Uzbeks beat Indonesia 2-0 in the semifinals and will face Japan in the final on Friday.
Japan secured an eighth consecutive Olympic appearance by defeating Iraq 2-1.
The top three teams qualify automatically for the Paris Games and Iraq and Indonesia will meet in Thursday’s playoff to decide the remaining place.
Uzbekistan has had an unlucky run. It won the biennial Asian tournament in the non-Olympic years of 2018 and 2022. In 2020, the team finished fourth, missing out on the Tokyo Games after losing the playoff against Australia.
There was no heartbreak this time. Khusain Norchaev scored midway through the second half and Pratama Arhan conceded an own goal four minutes from the end at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.
Messi in and Dybala out in Argentina squad for pre
Ellen Ash Peters, first female chief justice of Connecticut Supreme Court, dies at 94
Zion Williamson is ruled OUT of the Pelicans' NBA play
Medics remove 150 MAGGOTS from a woman's mouth after dental procedure left her with rotting tissue
Security corridor shields Türkiye from terrorism: president
New BYU basketball coach Kevin Young focused on building NBA pipeline with Cougars
Ukraine welcomes fresh military aid from EU
Medics remove 150 MAGGOTS from a woman's mouth after dental procedure left her with rotting tissue
Canada, Germany sign MOU to implement transatlantic hydrogen corridor
The government wants to buy their flood
Blues and Brumbies to meet in a pivotal Super Rugby Pacific showdown; Fijians host the Hurricanes