Ali the hero as Qatar storm into quarters
CHANGZHOU: Duhail striker Almoez Ali on Monday produced a sterling
performance to guide Qatar to the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian
Cup after a 2-1 victory over host nation China at the Changzhou Olympic
Sports Centre on Monday.
struck in both halves following Yao Junsheng’s early effort, to send his
team through to the last eight alongside second-placed Uzbekistan, while
the host nation, who had captain He Chao sent off, were eliminated from
the competition.
Coached by Felix Sanchez, Qatar finished the group stage of the 16-team
tournament with a full mark of 9 points from three matches.
China finished with 3 points having lost to Uzbekistan last Friday.
Ali scored once in each half as Qatar secured their last-eight berth in what
were chilly playing conditions.
Yao Junsheng’s effort had given China an early lead but a resolute Qatar
side hit back with two goals. Uzbekistan are the other side to qualify for
the quarter finals leaving hosts China out of the tournament.
The host nation also saw their captain He Chao sent off on Monday.
In a frenetic start to proceedings, China were ahead after only four minutes.
Deng Hangwen did well to outmuscle defender Sultan Al Brake deep inside
the Qatar penalty area, before finding Yao who deflected the ball home from
close range.
Qatar’s response was swift as Al Anabi scored twice to seal their hard-fought
win.
With Qatar slowly beginning to gain a degree of control, disaster was to strike
China on 41 minutes when captain He was handed a second yellow card by
referee Alireza Faghani following a foul on midfielder Akram Afif.
From the resulting free-kick, Bassam Al Rawi rattled the crossbar with a stinging
effort, before parity was restored in the dying embers of a fascinating first period
courtesy of Almoez’s deft header from a sublime Afif cross.
In the second half, China’s hopes of a comeback were quashed when Ali found
the net for the second time in the match from close range. Tameem Al Muhaza
provided the cross for Ali to score Qatar’s winning goal.
Qatar started the tournament by beating Uzbekistan 1-0 followed by a similar
scoreline against Oman.