Hosts Thailand and Australia booked their spots in the knockout stages from Group A at the 2020 AFC U23 Championships on January 14.
Thai footballers in the match against Iraq (Photo: AFC)
Australia had claimed four points from their opening two games while Thailand were on three, meaning both sides only needed a draw to progress to the quarter-finals.
In early moments of their match against Iraq on January 14, the video assistant referee (VAR) helped Thailand take an early lead.
Thailand were awarded a penalty after the new technology detected a hand ball in the box, which was successfully converted.
Iraq levelled proceedings four minutes into the second half, but that’s the way it stayed, a satisfying result for Thailand.
Australia topped the group also after drawing 1-1 with Bahrain the same day.
Meanwhile, after two goalless draws, Vietnam are third in Group D. They will take on the already-eliminated Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on January 16.
The United Arab Emirates and Jordan will face off in the other fixture.
