Wikipedia

2024 WAFF U-23 Championship

The 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship was the fifth edition of the WAFF U-23 Championship, the international age-restricted football championship organized by the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) for the men's under-23 national teams of West Asia. Eight teams competed in the tournament, with four WAFF teams and four other invitees.[1]

2024 WAFF U-23 Championship
بطولة غرب آسيا لكرة القدم تحت 23 عاما
Tournament details
Host countrySaudi Arabia
Dates20–26 March
Teams8 (from 2 confederations) (from 4 sub-confederations)
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions South Korea (1st title)
Runners-up Australia
Third place Saudi Arabia
Fourth place Egypt
Tournament statistics
Matches played12
Goals scored29 (2.42 per match)
Top scorer(s)Australia Alou Kuol (3 goals)
← 2023

Iraq were the defending champions, but they were eliminated from the tournament at the group stages. South Korea won their first WAFF title, beating Australia 4–3 on penalties after a 2–2 draw.

Teams

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Eight teams took part in the competition, with four from the WAFF and four other invitees. Iraq participated with its under-19 national team.[2]

Team Appearance Previous best performance
  Australia (invitee) 1st Debut
  Egypt (invitee) 1st Debut
  Iraq 3rd Winners (2023)
  Jordan 4th Winners (2021)
  Saudi Arabia 4th Winners (2022)
  South Korea (invitee) 1st Debut
  Thailand (invitee) 1st Debut
  United Arab Emirates 4th Group stage (2015, 2021, 2023)

Draw

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The draw for the group stage took place on 3 March 2024 at the WAFF headquarters in Amman, Jordan. Teams from the same group of the upcoming 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup could not be drawn into the same group. Host Saudi Arabia were automatically placed in position A1.[3]

Group A
Pos Team
A1   Saudi Arabia (H)
A2   Jordan
Group B
Pos Team
B1   South Korea
B2   Thailand
Group C
Pos Team
C1   Egypt
C2   United Arab Emirates
Group D
Pos Team
D1   Australia
D2   Iraq

Squads

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Main article: 2024 WAFF U-23 Championship squads

Match officials

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Venues

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  Hofuf   Al-Mubarraz
Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al Fateh Stadium
Capacity: 19,550 Capacity: 11,000

Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Saudi Arabia (H) 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1[a] Knockout stage
2   Jordan 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1[a]
Source: WAFF
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Saudi Arabia won 2–1 on penalty shootouts
Saudi Arabia  1–1  Jordan
  • Al-Faraj   52' (pen.)
Penalties
 2–1
Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   South Korea 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3 Knockout stage
2   Thailand 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
Source: WAFF
South Korea  1–0  Thailand
Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Egypt 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3 Knockout stage
2   United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
Source: WAFF
Egypt  1–0  United Arab Emirates
Referee: Abdullah Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia)

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Australia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 Knockout stage
2   Iraq 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
Source: WAFF
Australia  2–1  Iraq
 Report

Classification matches

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Classification semi-finals

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Iraq  1–1  United Arab Emirates
Penalties
 4–3
Thailand  1–3  Jordan
Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz

Seventh place play-off

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United Arab Emirates  0–1  Thailand

Fifth place play-off

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Iraq  1–3  Jordan

Knockout stage

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
23 March – Hofuf
 
 
  Australia (p)1 (2)
 
26 March – Al Mubarraz
 
  Egypt1 (1)
 
  Australia2 (3)
 
23 March – Al Mubarraz
 
  South Korea (p)2 (4)
 
  South Korea1
 
 
  Saudi Arabia0
 
Third place
 
 
26 March – Al Mubarraz
 
 
  Egypt2 (2)
 
 
  Saudi Arabia (p)2 (4)

Semi-finals

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Australia  1–1  Egypt
Penalties
 2–1
Referee: Baraa Abu Aisha (Palestine)
South Korea  1–0  Saudi Arabia
Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz

Third place play-off

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Egypt  2–2  Saudi Arabia
Penalties
 2–4
Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz
Referee: Shiekh Ahmad Alaeddin (Lebanon)

Final

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Australia  2–2  South Korea
 Report
Penalties
 3–4
Al Fateh Stadium, Al Mubarraz

Goalscorers

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There were 29 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2.42 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Ranking

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Rank Team M W D L GF GA GD Points
1   South Korea 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
2   Australia 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 5
3   Saudi Arabia 3 0 2 1 3 4 -1 2
4   Egypt 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
5   Jordan 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7
6   Iraq 3 0 1 2 3 6 -3 1
7   Thailand 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3
8   United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 1 3 -2 1

References

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  1. ^ "The 5th Edition of the under-23 championship will host 4 teams from outside the region". WAFF. 26 February 2024.
  2. ^ "الشباب بدلا عن الأولمبي في غرب آسيا". Iraq News Agency. 12 February 2024.
  3. ^ "٨ منتخبات تترقب قرعة بطولة تحت ٢٣ عاماً الخامسة" [Drawing the draw for the fifth Under-23 Championship] (in Arabic). WAFF. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
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