AFC U20 Asian Cup - Soares tells Saudi Arabia players to hold heads high

Shenzhen: Saudi Arabia head coach Marco Soares said his players had no reason to be disappointed despite their heartbreaking defeat to Australia in the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 final at the Baoan Sports Centre Stadium on Saturday.

Talal Haji cancelled out Louis Agosti’s early opener for Australia but it was not to be for Saudi Arabia as they fell 5-4 in the penalty shootout, which meant having to continue their wait for a fourth title.

#AFCU20 | Final : Australia 1 (5) - (4) 1 Saudi Arabia

“I'm very proud of my team. We played a great game and matched Australia throughout, but the result was ultimately decided by penalties,” said Soares. “It could have gone either way, but luck was not on our side.

“We had an amazing tournament. We reached the final, played some fantastic football, and secured qualification for the FIFA U20 World Cup (Chile 2025).”

Soares’ players were reduced to tears after Australia goalkeeper Steven Hall dived the right way to deny Bassam Hazazi’s spot-kick but the Brazilian said his players can take pride from their performance at China 2025.

“There’s nothing to regret. We beat strong teams like China PR and Korea Republic along the way. This group of players has come a long way, we started building this team just a year ago, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

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