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Japan, Korea Republic and United Arab Emirates set for Qatar 2025
Japan, Korea Republic and United Arab Emirates set for Qatar 2025
By: Nii Ammui Fio | 2 mins read
On a dramatic penultimate day of group action at the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, Japan and United Arab Emirates have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ after a three-way tie-breaker was required to split them and Australia.
Heading into the final Group B matches, Japan knew that a draw against Australia in the western Saudi Arabian city of Taif would be enough to secure qualification to Qatar 2025 and they made a flying start as Asuto Fujita swept home a corner in the seventh minute.
Three goals in just 21 second-half minutes put the Joeys firmly in control though, although a late Japan strike would ultimately swing the progression picture for Australia, despite a 3-2 win.
With Hazaa Madhi striking late on to secure United Arab Emirates a 1-1 draw with Vietnam in the group's other encounter it meant that they finished locked on the same points with both Japan and Australia. That required a three-way tiebreaker, with head-to-head results the first classification, where Japan and the UAE emerged on top and thus secured qualification to the U-17 World Cup.
Korea Republic also punched their Qatar 2025 ticket following a 1-0 win against Yemen. A tidy near-post finish from the impressive Kim Eunsong - his third goal at the tournament - proved the difference in Jeddah, with the Koreans now set for what will be an eighth appearance at the tournament.
Asia's final two qualifiers will be determined on 11 April, with Korea DPR, Tajikistan, Oman and IR Iran tussling for those final berths.
Source: FIFA
