Members of Uzbekistan celebrate during the awarding ceremony for AFC U23 Championship 2018 in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 27, 2018. Uzbekistan defeated Vietnam with 2-1 to claim the title. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
CHANGZHOU, China, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Substitute Sidorov's final hit in the 119th minute helped Uzbekistan win the title of AFC U23 Championship 2018, as the Central Asian country beat dark horse Vietnam 2-1 after the extra time of the final here on Saturday evening.
The final kicked off at 4 p.m.(Beijing time) as scheduled despite the heavy snow. It was Uzbekistan who broke the deadlock in the 8th minute when 21-year-old defender Khamdamov headed home through a left-side corner.
The 20-year-old Nguyen Quang Hai equalized for Vietnam in the 41st minute, as the Vietnamese soccer star's free-kick at the edge of the penalty area found the net directly. It was his fifth goal in the tournament.
Neither side was able to score again in regular time. Both sides had chances to seal victory in the extra time, but it was Uzbekistan who made the final hit through a corner.
Even though they were so close to win the championship, Vietnam had already made an impression in the tournament. They beat Australia 1-0 in group stage, and they also defeated Iraq and Qatar in knock-out stage through penalty shootout. Their star mid-fielder Nguyen Quang Hai was widely considered one of the best players in the tournament.
Uzbekistan's Xamrobekov won the MVP of the championship.
