Thailand, Australia enter AFC U23 champ’s knockout round

Hosts Thailand and Australia booked their spots in the knockout stages from Group A at the 2020 AFC U23 Championships on January 14.
Thailand, Australia enter AFC U23 champ’s knockout round ảnh 1Thai footballers in the match against Iraq (Photo: AFC)
Hanoi (VNA) – Hosts Thailand and Australia booked their spots in the knockout stages from Group A at the 2020 AFC U23 Championships on January 14.

Australia had claimed four points from their opening two games while Thailand were on three, meaning both sides only needed a draw to progress to the quarter-finals.

In early moments of their match against Iraq on January 14, the video assistant referee (VAR) helped Thailand take an early lead.

Thailand were awarded a penalty after the new technology detected a hand ball in the box, which was successfully converted.

Iraq levelled proceedings four minutes into the second half, but that’s the way it stayed, a satisfying result for Thailand.

Australia topped the group also after drawing 1-1 with Bahrain the same day.

Meanwhile, after two goalless draws, Vietnam are third in Group D. They will take on the already-eliminated Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on January 16.

The United Arab Emirates and Jordan will face off in the other fixture./.
VNA

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