[Official] Middle East judges, including Qatar, will take charge of the 'Fate of Destiny semifinal match between Korea and Japan'

*This content was translated by AI.

The semifinals of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup between South Korea and Japan will be played by Qatar's national referees.

AFC announced the judges of the semifinal match between Korea and Japan at 8:30 p.m. on the 20th (Korea Standard Time) at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The match will be played by Qatar's national referee Abdullah Almari as the referee, while Juma Mohammed Albuside and Khaled Iad Khalaf will play the role of the first and second vice judges, respectively.

Referees Almarie, Albuerside and Khalaf played as referees and vice judges even during the match when South Korea defeated Lebanon 4-2 in the second Group C match.

On top of that, Saudi referee Faisal Sulaiman Al-Balawi will play the role of waiting, and Qatari referee Kamis Mohammed Al-Mari will play the role of VAR.

All preliminary assistant judges and assistant VARs will be handled by Saudi or UAE national referees, and the Middle East referees will play the match on this day.

South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, previously passed Group C (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss, 4 points) and then beat Australia 2-1 to reach the semifinals.

It is the first time in six years and three competitions that Korea has reached the semifinals of this tournament since the 2020 tournament (winning). Previously, in both the 2022 and 2024 tournaments, they were eliminated early in the quarterfinals.

Unlike South Korea, Japan is a U-21 national team that will compete in the semifinals of the tournament and try to win the title for the second time in a row for the first time.

South Korea has the upper hand with eight wins, four draws and six losses in the previous matches between the U-23 national teams. Recently, he has won two consecutive group games at the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023 and the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in April 2024.

Coach Lee Kyung-soo, who attended the official press conference of the game instead of coach Lee Min-sung, who was absent due to cold flesh symptoms, said, "I came up to the quarterfinals with difficulty. As we showed good performance in the last game, we will prepare well so that we can continue the atmosphere," he said.

Vice-captain Lee Hyun-yong said, "I'm going to face Japan in the semifinals. As there is a saying that rock-paper-scissors should not be lost to Japan, I want to win in every way. I will prepare thoroughly and win the victory," he said.

If they win on this day, they will play the final match at 0 a.m. on the 25th, and if they lose, they will play the third place match at the same time the day before. The Olympics will not be held this year, so it will not be used as an Olympic qualification.

Meanwhile, another semifinal match between Vietnam and China, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, will be played by Australian state and vice judges.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.