Saudi U-20 team’s progress to Asian finals caps a summer of success

The strong performances of Saudi Arabia’s youth teams continued on Sunday as the Young Falcons qualified for the 2023 Asian U-20 Championships, which will take place in Uzbekistan.

A 1-0 victory over China meant that the side topped Group A with three wins from three games to finish above the Chinese, who also booked their place at the tournament as one of the best runners-up. 

It ends a summer of success. The Saudi Arabia Under-23 team were crowned the Asian champions in June with a win against hosts Uzbekistan.

In August, the U-20s lifted the Arab Cup after defeating Egypt in front of a sell-out crowd in Abha, and coach Saleh Al-Mohammadi has built on that achievement and will take the youngsters to Central Asia — where the U-23 team achieved glory — in March, full of confidence.

“It was a tough group, but I am happy that my players came through to win first place and qualify,” Al-Mohammadi said. “The players continued their good work from winning the Arab Cup, and now we can look forward to the next challenges.”

Jordan, Oman, Syria and Qatar also booked their places and will be in Uzbekistan in March, but qualification for Saudi Arabia never really looked in doubt following an 11-0 thrashing of Maldives in the opening game, which took place in the city of Alkhobar. It was followed by a 5-0 dismissal of Myanmar, which meant that, due to superior goal difference heading into the final game, just a draw against China would have been sufficient. 

In the end, a goal deep inside first-half stoppage time from defender Mohammed Bakor secured the win to end a fine campaign. The only downside was a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Uzbekistan, but as the game against the tournament hosts, automatically guaranteed a place, did