01 Nov 2018
Pakansari, 1 November 2018. Qatar’s U19 football national team was defeated 3-1 by Korea Republic in the semi-finals of the AFC U19 Championship on Thursday in Indonesia. The team, mainly comprised of former and current student-athletes of Aspire Academy, had already managed to qualify for the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland before the game by reaching the top four of the competition.
The “Maroons”, that had been very successful during the competition despite losing their opening game and had scored 18 goals before their semi-final match, started well into the game at Pakansari Stadium, having more ball possession in the first 15 minutes and failed to capitalize from a free kick in a good spot after 20 minutes.
South Korea, who won this competition a record 12 times, took the lead as Jeon Se-Jin (23’) broke the deadlock in the semifinal and put his team in front. Ten minutes later it was again Jeon Se-Jin, who found the back of the net, but this time with a free-kick from distance (33’). A goal scored by Um Won-Sang shortly before the half-time whistle (45’ + 2) gave Korea Republic a comfortable half-time lead.
The Qataris, confident in their attacking abilities, started with a lot of energy into the second half and Qatar’s top-scorer Abdulrasheed Umaru forced Lee Jae-Ik’s to score an own goal (52'). In the remaining time of the game, the South Koreans played very well in defense and eventually, the 3-1 remained the final score.
Korea Republic is now facing the winner of the second semi-final match between Japan and Saudi Arabia in the tournament’s final on November 4.