06:45 GMT 27/01/2020
Having already earned their Olympic ticket in the previous match, South Korea capped a splendid tournament in Thailand by winning the coveted final.
South Korea edged out Saudi Arabia 1-0 in a closely fought final of the AFC U23 Championship at Rajamangala Stadium on Sunday to clinch their first title success at this age level.
Defender Jeong Tae-wook rose highest in the 113th minute in the second half of extra time much to the delight of the Koreans after neither teams could be separated after 90 minutes of action.
Their achievement in this tournament also meant that South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Australia have booked their place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, alongside hosts Japan.
Two Southeast Asian representatives were in the tournament in Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam exited in the group stage after they could only score one goal in the three matches that they’ve played.
Meanwhile hosts Thailand reached the quarterfinals where they met eventual runner-up in Saudi Arabia and were unceremoniously dumped of the competition by a dubios VAR decision.
Malaysia who reached the quarterfinals two years ago in 2018, did not reach the finals after they only finished behind China in the qualifying rounds played in March of 2019.
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