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]
| بطولة غرب آسيا لكرة القدم تحت 23 عاما | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Saudi Arabia |
| Dates | 20–26 March |
| Teams | 8 (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 played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 29 (2.42 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Alou Kuol (3 goals) |
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
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
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]
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Squads
Match officials
Venues
| Hofuf | Al-Mubarraz |
|---|---|
| Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | Al Fateh Stadium |
| Capacity: 19,550 | Capacity: 11,000 |
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia (H) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Jordan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] |
- Saudi Arabia won 2–1 on penalty shootouts
| Saudi Arabia | 1–1 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
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| Penalties | ||
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2–1 | |
Group B
| 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 |
| South Korea | 1–0 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
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Group C
| 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 |
| Egypt | 1–0 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
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Classification matches
Classification semi-finals
| Iraq | 1–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
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| Penalties | ||
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4–3 |
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| Thailand | 1–3 | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
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Seventh place play-off
| United Arab Emirates | 0–1 | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
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Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 23 March – Hofuf | ||||||
| Australia (p) | 1 (2) | |||||
| 26 March – Al Mubarraz | ||||||
| Egypt | 1 (1) | |||||
| Australia | 2 (3) | |||||
| 23 March – Al Mubarraz | ||||||
| South Korea (p) | 2 (4) | |||||
| South Korea | 1 | |||||
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 26 March – Al Mubarraz | ||||||
| Egypt | 2 (2) | |||||
| Saudi Arabia (p) | 2 (4) | |||||
Semi-finals
| South Korea | 1–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
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Third place play-off
| Egypt | 2–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
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| Penalties | ||
| 2–4 |
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Final
| Australia | 2–2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
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| Penalties | ||
| 3–4 |
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Goalscorers
There were 29 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2.42 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
- Mohannad Abu Taha
- Aref Al-Haj
- Baker Kalbouneh
1 goal
- Louis D'Arrigo
- Garang Kuol
- Hossam Abdelmaguid
- Bilal Mazhar
- Mahmoud Saber
- Halgurd Jaafar
- Ali Sadiq
- Reziq Bani Hani
- Abdulaziz Al-Faraj
- Meshari Al-Nemer
- Marwan Al-Sahafi
- Cho Hyun-taek
- Eom Ji-sung
- Kang Seong-jin
- Lee Young-jun
- Chitsanupong Choti
- Thanadol Kaosaart
- Mohammed Al-Mansoori
1 own goal
- Jake Hollman (against Egypt)
- Reziq Bani Hani (against Iraq)
Ranking
| 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
- "The 5th Edition of the under-23 championship will host 4 teams from outside the region". WAFF. 26 February 2024.
- "الشباب بدلا عن الأولمبي في غرب آسيا". Iraq News Agency. 12 February 2024.
- "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.