Asia’s top teams have started preparations for the semi-finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Football Championship, being held in Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iran and Vietnam, who have already qualified for next year’s Fifa U-20 World Cup in South Korea after reaching the semi-finals, will battle it out tomorrow for a chance to be in the grand finale.
Saudi Arabia will play Iran in the first semi-final at 4.15pm, while Vietnam take on Japan at 7.15pm, with the highly anticipated final scheduled to take place on Sunday starting 5.30pm at National Stadium.
The Saudis were the first team to reach the semi-finals of this continental championship after a penalty shoot-out victory over Iraq on Sunday. Vietnam continued to defy expectations with a stunning 1-0 win over hosts Bahrain.
Japan joined the semi-finals after a 4-0 victory over debutant quarter-finalists Tajikistan on Monday while Iran overcame Uzbekistan 2-0 to seal their spot in the competition’s final four.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa congratulated the semi-finalists for making it to the Fifa U-20 World Cup. The four teams will join hosts South Korea in the World Cup.
“This is a remarkable achievement by Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Islamic Republic of Iran and Japan who have all displayed great determination and consistency to qualify for the Fifa U-20 World Cup,” said Shaikh Salman.
“Vietnam’s achievement in reaching their first-ever Fifa U-20 World Cup is outstanding. I am sure that all four teams will carry on Asia’s commendable tradition on the world stage”.
“The AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 has produced some riveting and captivating football and I wish all the teams the very best as they look to capture the coveted title,” added Shaikh Salman.
Meanwhile, Bahrain Football Association board member and AFC U-19 Championship marketing committee chairman Aref Al Mannai said the organising committee would coordinate with the AFC to prepare for the closing ceremony on Sunday.
Al Mannai said the ceremony would be simple and feature a purpose-built stage on which the top three teams will receive their awards. He added that the closing ceremony would be organised by international firm Design Arabia, in coordination with a team of Bahraini authorities.
Isa Al Thawadi is heading a 40-member Voluntary Committee to ensure smooth operation of the tournament, while technical committee head Abed Al Ansari is leading a team of coaches responsible for the statistics of all the tournament matches.
AFC Director of National Team competition Shin Mangal arrived in Bahrain yesterday to attend the semi-finals and the final. He was welcomed on arrival by public relations director Khalid Khalil, committee members and tournament mascot ‘Qannas’.