Yesterday, the AFC U-23 Asian Cup has kicked off on the green pitches of Saudi Arabia. In the opening match, host nation Saudi Arabia faced the Kyrgyz Republic and won a 1–0 victory. In another Group A match, Vietnam defeated Jordan 2–0.
On January 7, matches from Groups B and C will take place. In particular, the Uzbekistan U-23 national team will play with Lebanon at 7:00 PM (Tashkent time) at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium. Earlier that day, the Republic of Korea and Iran national teams from the same group will play against each other.
The Lebanon U-23 national team is taking part in this tournament for the first time. This will be the first official Asian Cup match between the Uzbekistan and Lebanon U-23 teams.
In the qualification stage, our opponent successfully advanced to the final tournament from Group F. They secured their place after playing matches against Malaysia, Thailand, and Mongolia.
Results:
Malaysia — Lebanon 0–1
Lebanon — Thailand 2–2
Lebanon — Mongolia 3–0
The seven players of team have played in foreign clubs. The team’s head coach is Jamal Taha.
Uzbekistan U-23 National Team
Looking at the history of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, Uzbekistan reached the final in three of the last four tournaments. The team won the championship once and claimed the silver medal twice. The most recent tournament was particularly historic for Uzbek football, as it also provided a qualification spot for the Olympic Games.
For this edition of the tournament, the Uzbekistan U-23 national team is mainly composed of 19–21-year-old players. It should be noted that the primary focus is on giving players Asian Cup experience ahead of the next tournament and carrying out systematic preparation for the Olympic qualification tournament in line with a long-term plan.
The team began its final pre-tournament training camp in Tashkent on December 7. Training sessions held at the National Football Center continued until December 22, after which the team traveled to Doha to continue preparations. As part of the training camp, friendly matches against the Jordan and Qatar U-23 national teams were also organized.
At the press conference of tournament, the head coach Ravshan Haydarov said — “We aim to step on the pitch with confidence. I told the players that this tournament will serve as a bridge to senior football. We have come to the competition with good intentions and clear goals.”
In the group stage, Uzbekistan will also face the national teams of Iran and the Republic of Korea. These matches will take place on January 10 and January 13.