DUSHANBE, 01.10.2018 /NIAT “Khovar”/. The national junior football team of Tajikistan (U-16), having defeated the DPRK team in the quarterfinal match of the 2018 Asian Championship (1:1 time, 4:2 by penalties), reached the semi-final of the championship, as well as won a berth to the 2019 World Cup to be held next year in Peru. NIAT “Khovar” has been reported by the press service of the Football Federation of Tajikistan.

The main time of the match between the national teams of DPRK and Tajikistan did not reveal the winner — 1:1. The goal of Tajik team was scored by Rustam Soirov (14th minute) and the goal of DPRK team — by Rih Hun (69th minute).

According to the regulations of the championship, at the play-offs stage, if the main time of the match ends draw, the game immediately turns into a penalty shootout. In the series of penalty shoot-outs, luck was on the side of the national team of Tajikistan — 4:2. The hero of the penalty shootout was the goalkeeper of our national team Muhriddin Hasanov, who reflected the opponent’s two strikes.

Thus, the junior team of Tajikistan reached the semi-final of the 2018 Asian Championship and won a berth to the 2019 World Cup (U-17) to be held in Peru.

The opponent of the junior team of Tajikistan at the semi-final of the Asian Championship, which takes place in Malaysia, will be determined today, October 1. In the semi-final, Zainiddin Rahimov’s wards will meet with the winner of the quarter-final pair South Korea-India on Thursday, October 4.

It should be noted that earlier the Tajikistan national team took part in the Junior World Cup exactly 11 years ago — in 2007 in South Korea.