Changwon, Korea: Qatar earned an impressive 2-0 win over Korea Republic in their opening fixture in Group B of the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ 2024 Qualifiers. At Changwon Football Center in the southern city of Changwon, Qatar, who already secured a place in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup as hosts, managed to score in each half to make sure newly appointed coach Ildio Vale emerged victorious in his official debut. In the 38th minute, Qatar got on the board first. Near the edge of the penalty area, winger Ahmed Al-Rawi chested down a ball before unleashing a right-footed effort that found the back of the net, beating goalkeeper Baek Jong-beom. The teams traded some opportunities in the early moments of the second half. For South Korea, Oh Jae-hyeok tested goalkeeper Yousef Abdulla Baliadeh with a shot from the center of the box on 47 minutes. Some five minutes later, Al-Rawi forced Baek to make a diving save as he went for his second goal of the match. On 67 minutes, Qatar scored again to extend their advantage to 2-0. To an Abdalla Yousif throw-in, Tameem Mansour Muftah nodded his head. The ball skipped over many defenders before landing in the empty net on the other side. The 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, held in Qatar in April, will double as a regional qualifying tournament for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. All of the AFC tournament's top three finishers will automatically advance to France, and the tournament's fourth-place team will face Guinea, who finished fourth in the African qualifiers. In the next round, Korea Republic will aim to get their first points when they meet Kyrgyz Republic on Saturday while Qatar will look to maintain their winning momentum against Myanmar.