TASHKENT — Saudi Arabia qualified for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup final for the second time in a row after beating Australia 2-0 in the semifinal match, which was held in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Wednesday. Hussein Al-Essa scored the first goal in the 20th minute while Ayman Yahya scored the second goal in the 72nd minute to seal victory. The Green shirts will meet in the final match on Sunday the winner of the second semifinal match to be held between Uzbekistan and Japan. Saudi Arabia had qualified for the semifinals after beating Vietnam 2-0 last Sunday at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent while Australia entered the semifinals after defeating Turkmenistan 1-0. Saudi Arabia, which had not conceded even a single goal in the previous matches of the fifth edition of the championship, is one match away from lifting the title for the first time. The Green shirts came second in 2013 and 2020 in the AFC U23 Asian Cup. The AFC U-23 Asian Cup is a biennial continental football championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation for the men's under-23 national teams from the Asian countries.
