A rare thing in the Asian U20 tournament

Yesterday, March 6, Group D took place in the second match with the result that Japan beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 and China suddenly defeated the defending champion Saudi Arabia 2-0. Japan leads the table with six points, while China and Saudi Arabia have the same three points. Kyrgyzstan has no points but has not been eliminated.

The 2023 AFC U20 Championship prioritizes head-to-head performance when considering rankings. Kyrgyzstan still has a chance to continue if it wins China by two goals, while Saudi Arabia loses to Japan in the last round. At that time, Kyrgyzstan had the same three points, but the head-to-head difference +1 was better than China's 0 and Saudi Arabia's -1.

In another scenario, the top team Japan is also at risk of being eliminated if they lose to Saudi Arabia by two goals, and China wins Kyrgyzstan. At that time, the three teams had six points, but Saudi Arabia and China went through with a head-to-head difference of +1, while Japan was -1.

This afternoon, March 7, the last round of Group B will take place with the pair Vietnam - Iran and Australia - Qatar taking place at 5pm Hanoi time. Vietnam leading the group with six points is still at risk of being eliminated if they lose 0-1 or 1-2 in the last round, while Australia won against Qatar. At that time, the three teams had the same six points, the goal difference was 0 but Vietnam scored fewer goals.