AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Uzbekistan’s youth team cruises to a big win over Saudi Arabia

Uzbekistan’s U-17 national football team wrapped up the group stage of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup with another victory, securing a place in the playoffs as the top team in Group A.

Photo: UFA

The team, coached by Islombek Ismoilov, delivered a convincing performance in their third group match, defeating tournament hosts Saudi Arabia by a wide margin. Jamshidbek Rustamov opened the scoring in the 57th minute from the penalty spot. Just six minutes later, Aslibek Aliyev netted the second goal of the match — his third goal of the tournament. In the 70th minute, Rustamov struck again with a brilliant finish to make it 3–0.

With this result, Uzbekistan topped Group A with 9 points and advanced to the quarterfinals. The host nation, Saudi Arabia, also progressed to the next round, finishing second in the group with 6 points.

Uzbekistan will face the second-place team from Group B in the quarterfinal match on April 13. Their opponent will be determined following the Japan vs. Australia and Vietnam vs. UAE matches on April 10.