Doha: Hosts Qatar will aim to carry forward their consistent goal scoring run a step forward when they take on South Korea in the AFC U23 Championship semi-finals at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium here today.

Coach Felix Sanchez side is the highest-scoring team so far in the championship with 11 goals in four matches and is a win away from qualifying for the Rio Olympics.

Left back and captain Abdelkarim Hassan and forward Ahmed Alaaeldin have scored four goals apiece to share the tournament lead.

However the Al Annabi have been sweating over the fitness of Hassan on the eve of the crucial tie.

Hassan the tournament’s joint-top scorer picked up an injury in the quarter-final 2-1 extra time win over North Korea but should recover to play against South Korea.

“Abdulkarim Hassan is going to be ok” said the Spanish coach.

The Qatari duo is expected to be quite a handful for the South Korean defense as Sanchez side look to book a place in the final and also secure a place at the finals of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August.

The U23 competition is also the Asian qualifying tournament for this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and only the top three nations will punch their tickets to Brazil.

Sanchez however will not have the services of Mohammed Muntari who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card of the tournament in the 2-1 extra-time win.

“Muntari is suspended with two yellow cards he’s an important player for us but we have 22 more and we have the resources to play the match” the Qatar coach said while talking to reporters on the eve of the last-four clash.

Qatar will qualify if they win over South Korea but even if they lose Qatar will get another crack in the third-place match set for Friday between the losing semi-finalists.

The Qataris are aiming to qualify for the Olympic Games for the third time and for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals in Barcelona in 1992 having made their debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

“We are in the last part of the competition and every game is going to be harder and harder because the opposition is very high quality” said Sanchez.

“The pressure is the same as in every other game because each game is like a final for us. We are proud to be at this stage of the competition and we will play with all we have inside. More than the pressure we are proud to be here and we’re going to try to do a last effort in this final stage.

“We are going to face a top team. They showed during the tournament the performance quality of the players and the organisation of the kind of football they are playing. It’s very high quality. We are going to do our best to concentrate to be able to compete tomorrow and to have the opportunity to qualify.”

The Koreans are attempting to qualify for an Asian record extending eighth straight Olympic Games and coach Shin Tae-yong is wary of the challenge presented by the host nation.

“We are now facing Qatar who are the host country and they have shown some very good performances in this competition. “It will be a tough match. But I’ve already analyzed them so we will train to win. We will treat Qatar as our biggest game thus far” said the AFC Champions League-winning coach.

“Their attack is very good and in all the matches they have been managing the games very well and they will be a very dangerous opponent for us. They have players with great individual skills and will also enjoy their home field advantage .It will be a good match. I think Qatar is the most impressive team overall” Shin said.

Qatar have the most potent attack in the tournament so far but Shin believes the team capable of keeping their focus throughout the game will emerge victorious.

“I don’t think it will be the matter who scores the first goal but more about the team that maintains full concentration the longest” he said. “That will be the key of this game.

South Korea on the other hand will try to put their defensive headaches behind them.

South Korea eliminated Jordan 1-0 in the quarterfinals but they were fortunate to walk away with the victory as they experienced some serious defensive lapses in the second half.

But there will be much less margin for error against Qatar with Hassan and company on the lookout for goals.

The Peninsula