TAIF: Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi was the hero once more on Thursday as Saudi Arabia beat South Korea on penalties to move into the final of the U17 Asian Cup.
After 90 minutes of tense final semifinal action ended 1-1, the goalkeeper saved two spot kicks to give the young Green Falcons a 3-1 shootout victory.
Roared on by thousands of fans at the Okadh Stadium in the western city of Taif, the hosts, who last won the title way back in 1988, found it difficult however to get past the South Koreans who were looking for a third title in total.
Both had squeezed through their respective quarter-finals via a penalty shootout, Saudi Arabia defeating Japan while Korea got past Tajikistan, and it was not a surprise that the opening exchange were relatively quiet.
There were opportunities on either side but the Green Falcons’ best chance of the first half came seven minutes before it was over. Abdulrahman Sufyani was in a good position and had time to guide his header into the top corner, but his effort went just wide.
The Koreans broke the deadlock just before the break. A free kick from midway inside the home half caused problems. The ball fell to Oh Ha-ram. And while his first-time fierce shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, he was on hand to fire home the rebound.
Saudi Arabia pushed forward from the start of the second half in search of the equalizer. Incredibly, it came with the last action of the game.
The Korean goalkeeper, Park Do-hun, desperate to clear, brought down Abdulaziz Al-Fawaz, and after a lengthy and tense VAR intervention, the penalty was given and then Abubaker Saeed smashed home with 99 minutes on the clock.
That meant a penalty shootout. Al-Otaibi saved from Jeong Hyeon-ung and Kim Do-yeon to win the game for his team.
The victors will now go on to a final against either Uzbekistan or North Korea on Sunday.
The journey is not over, however, as the focus will be on preparing for the 2025 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar in November.
