Iraq defeated Indonesia 2-1 in the U-23 Asian Cup third-place deciding match and qualified for the Paris Olympic Men's Soccer Tournament.
DOHA, Qatar – Iraq defeated Indonesia 2-1 in the U-23 Asian Cup third-place play-off on Thursday to qualify for the Paris Olympic men's soccer tournament.
Ali Jassim's extra-time winner will automatically place Iraq in third place in Asia at the Olympics. Japan and Uzbekistan, who will face each other in Friday's cup final, have both already qualified for the Paris tournament.
Indonesia took the lead after 19 minutes when the two teams who lost in the semi-finals met at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, with Ivar Jenner scoring from outside the area.
Eight minutes later, Zaid Tahseen made it 1-1 with a header at the near post.
The game went into overtime, with Iraq taking the lead in the 96th inning. The Indonesian defense made a mistake in judging the rebound of a long pass, allowing Jassim to freely invade the right side of the area. He dove and fired a powerful shot past the goalkeeper, putting Iraq on the brink of a sixth Olympic appearance.
Indonesia, still aiming for their first Olympic appearance since 1956, almost went to penalties in the final match, but Justin Hibner's header was cleared on the line.
Indonesia still has a chance. They will face Guinea in the playoffs on May 9th for a spot in Paris.
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