The White Wolves’ victory over the East Asians kept their perfect record intact and the 2018 AFC U23 champions will next face Korea Republic, who defeated Islamic Republic of Iran 2-0 in their quarter-final.

Uzbekistan took control of the match and pressured Hong Kong early as Dostonbek Khamdamov and Jaloliddin Masharipov had their shots parried away by goalkeeper Yuen Ho Chun in the first 20 minutes.

However, Ravshan Khaydarov’s men broke Hong Kong’s resistance after Ikromjon Alibaev found the net in the 27th minute to put Uzbekistan in the lead.

In their best display yet in the tournament, a goal in each half from Hwang Ui-jo and Lee Seung-woo were sufficient to seal a convincing win over IR Iran and set up a quarter-final tie with 2018 AFC U23 champions Uzbekistan, who beat Hong Kong 3-0 earlier on Thursday. 

Defending champions Korea Republic applied heavy pressure from the first blow of the whistle but IR Iran matched the East Asians’ intensity with their own aggressive playstyle, setting the stage for a highly entertaining match.

Despite Korea Republic’s best efforts in the final third in the opening minutes, it was IR Iran’s Younes Delfi who came closest to opening the scoring with a right-footed shot that struck the crossbar.

Just a minute later, Hwang saw his effort hit the right post.

The win for Vietnam sets up a semi-final encounter against Syria, who edged Palestine 1-0 earlier on Thursday.

Vietnam, the 2018 AFC U23 Championship runners-up, found it hard to break down their West Asian opponents, who had better chances in front of goal with Mohamed Marhoon testing goalkeeper Ngyuen Van Noang from a free-kick in the 16th minute and again in open play 22 minutes later.

The East Asians’ best chance came after Bahrain were reduced to 10 men in the 42nd minute following Ahmed Sanad’s dismissal but Luong Xuan Truong’s effort did not trouble Bahrain shotstopper Ammar Ahmed as both teams drew a blank at halftime.

In an all-West Asian affair at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium, both sides showed respect from the beginning, which translated into little action in the final third for either side. 

The goalless stalemate continued well into the second half but the tempo of the game was turned up a notch with both sides putting up a more attacking front.