One step from glory: 5 things we learned as Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan reach final of 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Saudi Arabia defeated Australia 2-0 in the semifinal of the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup on Wednesday to book a huge showdown with the host nation Uzbekistan on Sunday.

Here are five things we learned from the last four clashes.

1. Al-Buraikan not just about goals

Firas Al-Buraikan may be among the top 10 goalscorers in the Saudi Arabian league, which is no mean feat given the foreign talent that plays there and the fact that he does not feature for one of the big clubs, but there is more to his game than finding the back of the net. The striker made both goals against Australia and showed great vision in doing so.

In the first half, there were two Australian defenders who were happy to maneuver the Al-Fateh forward into the corner but they didn’t expect an impressive and visionary pullback from the left side into the area for Hussain Al-Eisa to fire an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Then came the all-important second that virtually killed the game as a contest. This time he was not quite as wide but still got to the byline of the left side, and pulled the ball back for Ayman Yahya to make no mistake and give the team the breathing space they were looking for.

2. Defense comes through again

Australia asked questions of the Saudi defense especially at set pieces. Tyrese Francois went very close in the first half as his shot came back firmly off the bar. A couple of other times, the West Asian team were relieved to see low shots roll just past the outside of the post.

The situation changed after the red card to Jay Rich-Baghuelou in the first half but that meant that there had to be more concentration from the team. Australia were always going to struggle to mount constant attacks but Saudi Arabia had to stay