(MENAFN- The Peninsula) #AFC U23 ASIAN CUP The Peninsula / AFC
Doha: The third and final automatic berth at the Paris Olympics from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will be at stake today when Iraq and Indonesia face off in the third place play-off.
Iraq are seeking a sixth appearance and a first since 2016, while Indonesia's sole involvement to date came in 1956 before the Olympics' men's football tournament became a U23 affair. The losing team will still have one last shot at making it, via a playoff against Guinea on May 9 in Paris. However, that is not on either side's minds for now as they look to pick themselves up from stumbling at the semi-finals to get ready for their second chance at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
For Radhi Shenaishil, that has meant relieving his charges of the burden of expectations as much as possible, following their 2-0 loss to Japan two days ago.
“Regarding our own preparations, everything is going to plan,” he said. The West Asians' qualification in 2016 also came in Doha at the same stage, when they defeated Qatar to book their place at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Shenaishil hopes history will repeat itself but the 57-year-old is well aware of Indonesia's strengths, whom Iraq will have to face without the suspended defensive duo of right-back Mustafa Saadoun and centre-back Zaid Tahseen, who have both played every minute of their campaign so far.
Meanwhile, Indonesia head coach Shin Tae-yong noted that physical recovery has been the core aspect in the build-up, after their 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan on Monday that came off a quarter-final win against Korea Republic that went to a penalty shootout where each team took 12 kicks.
The ex-South Korea international, who has already made history by leading the debutants to this point, will also have to deal with the unavailability of centre-backs Rizky Ridho - the skipper - and Justin Hubner, who are key components of their three-man defence.
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