FOOTBALL – Defending champions and hosts Qatar were made to fight hard for a 1-0 win over China in their final Group A game of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup at the Khalifa International Stadium with captain Hassan Al Haydos coming off the bench to score a spectacular, second-half goal that sealed their victory.
Qatar had already qualified for the round of 16 after defeating Lebanon 3-0 and Tajikistan 1-0 in their first two matches and last night’s win ensured that they topped the four-team table with nine points.
With head coach Marquez Lopez making 10 changes to the side that started in the victory over Tajikistan, Al Haydos finally came on in the 64th minute and made an immediate impact as he fired a fantastic volley from 20 yards with the ball speeding past China goalkeeper Yan Junling in the 66th minute.
Qatar had begun the match earlier with tournament joint-leading scorer Akram Afif also on the bench along with 2019 AFC Asian Cup Golden Boot winner Almoez Ali while China saw Wei Shihao make his first start along with captain Wu Xi and Lin Liangming.
China could have taken the lead in the seventh minute but Wei sent the ball wide off a cross from Zhang Yuning.
Soon afterwards, Qatar also had an opportunity with Abdulaziz Hatem sending his curling effort over the bar.
Wei had another chance with nine minutes to go till the break but Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb stuck his left hand out to block the shot from close range.
Qatar retaliated with a Khalid Muneer shot that sent the ball over the crossbar before Wei and fellow striker Zhang Yuning both sent headers wide with the first half coming to a close and the scoreboard reading 0-0.
As the game ticked past the 60-minute mark, Lopez brought Afif on along with Al Haydos and the move paid off beautifully when Afif’s perfect corner-kick saw the ball find the Qatar captain completely unmarked just outside the penalty area and the midfielder sent the ball screaming into the back of the net to ensure a hat-trick of wins in the first round for the hosts.
Meanwhile, tournament debutants Tajikistan fought back from 1-0 down early in the second half to beat Lebanon, 2-1, to finish second in Group A with four points.
The match had gone into injury time after the regulation 90 minutes saw the score tied 1-1 but forward Nuriddin Khamrokulov, who had come on as a substitute just 20 minutes earlier, positioned himself perfectly in the Lebanese box in the 92nd minute before heading a cross from Ehson Panshanbe past goalkeeper Mostafa Matar into the back of the net.
There had been plenty of drama earlier in the first half with Tajikistan, who battled to a goalless draw with China in their first match before losing 1-0 to Qatar in the second, thinking they had scored their first-ever AFC Asian Cup goal through midfielder Shervoni Mabatshoev just before the break but a VAR check ruled it out for offside.
Lebanon took the lead two minutes into the second half through midfielder Bassel Jradi who curled the ball into the Tajikistan goal despite a despairing dive by goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov.
However, Lebanon’s elation was short-lived as, shortly thereafter, they were reduced to 10 men following a red card for Kassem El Zein after the defender made a dangerous tackle on Alisher Dzhalilov.
In the 69th minute, Tajikistan celebrated again as they thought Dzhalilov had scored their first ever tournament goal but another VAR check showed that Mabatshoev had been offside in the build-up.
However, in the 80th minute, Tajikistan were finally able to celebrate their first AFC Asian Cup goal after Parvizdzhon Umarbaev sent the ball into the bottom corner off a stunning free-kick.
And, another dozen minutes later, Tajikistan were celebrating victory and the fact that they had qualified for the knock-out stage in their very first appearance in the tournament.
&uuid=(email))