JEDDAH: UAE qualified to the final for the first time in its history in the AFC Youth Championship by crushing Australia 3-0 in the semifinal match in Dammam yesterday.
A frenzied celebration started before the end of the final whistle as both fans and players on the bench cheered the UAE players.
UAE will try to complete its storybook run when it faces tough Uzbekistan in the final.
Uzbekistan advanced after winning against South Korea 1-0 in the first semifinal match.
UAE came to the match determined not to miss the only chance to be this close to playing for the championship crown.
UAE already qualified for the World Youth Cup after reaching the semifinals by defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in a quarterfinal match. UAE, undefeated so far in this tournament, is expected to have its hands full against Uzbekistan. But oddsmakers picked the UAE team to win the title by virtue of its performance in this tournament.
Uzbekistan qualified second of Group D for the quarterfinals with seven points behind Australia which topped the group on goal difference as both teams finished the group matches on seven points.
In the quarterfinals, Uzbekistan played against China and managed to win 5-3 in penalty kicks.
UAE was strong from the beginning and managed to qualify for the knockout stages as first with nine points in Group B. UAE first defeated Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals and Australia in the final four.
