Daily Times

Uzbekistan qualified for men’s Olympic soccer after years of near-misses by reaching the Under-23 Asian Cup final.

The Uzbeks beat Indonesia 2-0 in the semifinals on Monday in Doha, Qatar, and will face Japan for the title on Friday.

Japan secured an eighth consecutive Olympic appearance with a 2-0 win over Iraq.

The top three teams qualify automatically for the Paris Games, and Iraq and Indonesia will meet in Thursday´s playoff to decide the remaining place.

Uzbekistan has had an unlucky run. It won the biennial Asian tournament in the non-Olympic years of 2018 and 2022. In 2020, the team finished fourth, missing out on the Tokyo Games after losing the playoff against Australia.

There was no heartbreak this time. After Indonesia found the back of the net but had a goal disallowed for offside, Khusain Norchaev scored midway through the second half to give Uzbekistan the lead.

Indonesia’s hopes of an equalizer were set back when Rizky Ridho was sent off in the 84th, leaving his team with 10 men. Uzbekistan doubled the margin four minutes from time when Pratama Arhan conceded an own goal.