Qatar stunned by Korea late show
 
Qatar 1-3 Korea Republic
 
Late goals from Kwon Chang Hoon and Moon Chang Jin broke Qatari hearts in the semi-finals of the 2016 AFC U23 Championship.
 
Korea Republic denied Al Anabi a place in the final after a 3-1 win at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. The victory secured Korea a place in the final against Japan, and with it qualification for the Rio Olympics.
 
Qatar’s dreams of lifting the trophy on home soil are over, but they still have a chance to qualify for Brazil. A win against Iraq in Friday’s third-place play-off will see the Maroons take part in their first Olympics since 1992.
 
Tuesday’s match sprung into life after the break after a dour first half in which neither side had a shot on target.
 
Korea took the lead in the 48^th minute through Ryu Seung Woo. Qatar goalkeeper Muhannad Naim rushed off his line in an attempt to clear a ball over the top, but Ryu got to the ball first and his shot squirmed over the line despite the best efforts of Tameem Al Muhaza.
 
Naim was clearly affected by his rush of blood but did well soon after to prevent Korea from doubling their lead. The Al Sadd stopper got down well to parry Kim Hyun’s right-footed shot.
 
By now Korea were well on top and creating chances at will. The next attempt fell to Lee Chang Min, who fizzed a shot narrowly wide after Qatar failed to clear the ball.
 
The home side weren’t out of the game however and came close to equalising in the 64^th minute. Playmaker Akram Afif crossed from the right, but Ali Asad’s powerful header produced a superb reaction save from Kim Dong Jun.
 
Five minutes later, and Naim needed to be at his best again to stop Hyun. The Korea striker attempted to pass the ball into the bottom corner from 18 yards, but Naim was alert enough to parry the ball behind.
 
By now it was end-to-end stuff as Qatar pressed for an equaliser. And in the 74^th minute they came close to getting one. The Maroons found space in the final third to create a shooting chance for Ahmed Alaa, but the Al Rayyan star blazed his shot wide from seven yards.
 
Alaa wouldn’t be denied his moment of glory for long though. The 22-year-old grabbed the leveller in the 79^th minute after his shot squirmed under Kim from eight yards.
The goal sparked scenes of wild celebration and appeared to be the cue for Qatar to go on and win the game. The Maroons had Korea rattled and created another opening in the 81^st minute when Afif showed pace to break into the penalty area. He left it too late to shoot though, before going down under a challenge and failing to convince the referee to give a penalty.
 
Extra-time appeared to be on the cards, but Korea had other ideas. In the 89^th minute Hyun picked up the ball on the edge of the box, played in Lee Seul Chan and his cross was converted by Kwon from no more than two yards.
 
Qatar threw men forward in search of a second equaliser, but failed to create a scoring chance. And when the five minutes of added time were almost up, Moon grabbed Korea’s third to give the scoreline a lopsided look.
 
Qatar will need to pick themselves up quickly from what is sure to be a crushing defeat. The third-place play-off will take place on Friday afternoon at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, and a win for either side will secure the Asian Football Confederation’s final Olympics berth.