Uzbekistan knocks out titleholder Saudi Arabia in Under

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Defending champion Saudi Arabia lost to Uzbekistan 2-0 in the Under-23 Asian Cup quarterfinals and also saw its chance of a second successive appearance at the Olympics end on Friday.

Only the top three teams from the 16-team competition qualify automatically for men’s Olympic soccer in Paris. Fourth place earns a playoff against Guinea in May.

In a reverse of the 2022 final, Uzbekistan was a comfortable winner. Khusain Norchaev scored on halftime and the Saudis’ task became much harder after 70 minutes when Ayman Yahya received a second yellow card. Umarali Rakhmonaliev headed home to secure the win for the 2018 champion.

The Central Asian team will take on Indonesia in Monday’s semifinal.

Iraq defeated Vietnam 1-0 to earn a last-four clash with Japan.

Ali Jasim scored in the second half from the penalty spot after goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan fouled Mohammad Nihad in the area.