Olympic spot at stake as Iraq meet Indonesia in third place play-off
The Peninsula
Doha: The third and final automatic berth at the Paris Olympics from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will be at stake today when Iraq and Indonesia f...
Doha: The third and final automatic berth at the Paris Olympics from the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 will be at stake today when Iraq and Indonesia face off in the third place play-off.
Iraq are seeking a sixth appearance and a first since 2016, while Indonesia’s sole involvement to date came in 1956 before the Olympics’ men’s football tournament became a U23 affair. The losing team will still have one last shot at making it, via a playoff against Guinea on May 9 in Paris. However, that is not on either side’s minds for now as they look to pick themselves up from stumbling at the semi-finals to get ready for their second chance at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
For Radhi Shenaishil, that has meant relieving his charges of the burden of expectations as much as possible, following their 2-0 loss to Japan two days ago.
“Regarding our own preparations, everything is going to plan,” he said. The West Asians’ qualification in 2016 also came in Doha at the same stage, when they defeated Qatar to book their place at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Shenaishil hopes history will repeat itself but the 57-year-old is well aware of Indonesia’s strengths, whom Iraq will have to face without the suspended defensive duo of right-back Mustafa Saadoun and centre-back Zaid Tahseen, who have both played every minute of their campaign so far.
