First-half goals from Lee Dong-jun and Cho Gue-sung gave Kim Hak-bum’s side a two-goal half-time buffer, but Reza Shekari from Iran did a nine minutes effort after the interval meant the Koreans had to negotiate a difficult period in order to extend its winning start to the competition in AFC U-23 Championship.

The team’s perfect tally of six points from two matches means it is sure to advance to the knockout stage no matter what happens in Wednesday’s match against Uzbekistan, while Iran’s hopes of ending a 44-year Olympic qualification drought now weighs heavily on its final group stage fixture against China.

Iran had started the campaign with a 1-1 draw against defending champion Uzbekistan on Thursday.

Thailand 2020 also serves as a qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the top three teams, aside from host nation Japan, will represent Asia.

The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship is the 4th edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation for the men’s under-23 national teams of Asia. A total of 16 teams are competing in the tournament.

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He went on to say that he has reached an agreement with the Croatian manager for ending the contract, adding that the team will be guided by an Iranian coach.

Two of Iran’s young managers and Team Melli former players namely Yahya Golmohammadi and Javad Nekounam have been linked with the job.

Iran booked a place at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship as one of four best runners-up while Iraq advanced to the event as Group C winners of the qualification round.

The 2020 AFC U23 Championship will be the fourth edition of the AFC U23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men’s under-23 national teams of Asia. The tournament will be held from Jan. 8 to 26, 2020 in Thailand.

The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics men’s football tournament in Japan as the AFC representatives.

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