Akram Afif turned hero for Qatar by netting a hat trick of penalty to assist his nation win back-to-back AFC Asian Cup. Dealing with an excellent Jordan facet, Qatar performed some exuberant soccer, and their brilliance within the ultimate third was rewarded with three penalties, which Afif dispatched with nice ease.
With this victory, Qatar has confirmed its credentials as an Asian footballing powerhouse. This achievement has been years within the making, with the nation investing a substantial quantity of monetary assets to enhance the standard of their nationwide crew.
So, we hint Qatar’s unimaginable Asia Cup journey, the place they proved themselves worthy of being champions once more.
AFC Asian Cup Group Stage: A quest for redemption
When Qatar took the sector towards Lebanon within the opening recreation of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, their fundamental intention was to place behind the ghost of an underwhelming World Cup marketing campaign simply over a 12 months again. The nation had misplaced all three video games, a primary for any hosts within the match’s historical past.
So, an excellent begin was wanted within the Asian Cup. And Qatar didn’t disappoint as they rapidly scored three targets with out reply to begin their title defence in fashion. Their subsequent two video games have been 1-0 wins over Tajikistan and China, respectively, which earned them a high spot. What was vital of their later two wins was how they’d managed to win regardless of being removed from their greatest, a key function for any title-winning crew.
The unimaginable efficiency earned them a round-of-16 conflict towards Palestine.
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Knockouts: Qatar’s champion mentality rises to the fore
Of their earlier title-winning marketing campaign, Qatar confronted Iraq and South Korea within the spherical of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively. So, it was unsurprising that these two video games have been hard-fought 1-0 wins. Nevertheless, as quickly as they cleared this hurdle, they simply gained their ultimate two video games towards the United Arab Emirates (4-0) and Japan (3-1).
This time, although, their route was much more simple, however nonetheless, Qatar didn’t carry out at their 2019 degree. Nevertheless, Qatar had one trick up its sleeve: expertise. That they had one earlier than and knew the best way to calm their nerves in crunch conditions.
The primary take a look at of it got here towards Palestine. In a tightly contested recreation, Bassam Al Rawi received the decisive purpose. Iraq had outshot the defending champions 11-9 on the night time. As well as, Palestine additionally had extra photographs on course (5-3), however the brilliance of goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham ensured that they superior to the quarter-finals.
Their subsequent recreation was towards 68th-ranked Uzbekistan. On paper, Qatar gave the impression to be heavy favorites towards a defensive-minded crew. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan proved to be one of the formidable challengers for the Gulf nation in latest occasions.
The sport was tied at 1-1 on the finish of 90 minutes, which meant further time was wanted. Qatar’s spectacular ahead line of Afif and Almoez Ali wanted assist discovering a well beyond the spectacular Utkir Yusupov within the Uzbek purpose.
Qatar once more fell again on their expertise and gained 3-2 on penalties to scrape by way of to the semi-final by the barest of margins.
Ready for them within the ultimate 4 was Irah, the one crew aside from Qatar, who nonetheless had a 100 per cent successful file. It was a conflict of titans, with everybody anticipating an epic conflict. And that is what the 2 groups supplied for the followers on the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring within the fourth minute earlier than Qatar leveled by way of Jassem Gaber 13 minutes later; Qatar ended the primary half with a 2-1 lead after Afif scored his fifth purpose of the match.
Iran got here again within the second half with Alireza Jahanbakhsh equalising for the guests. With their backs towards the wall, Ali received what turned out to be the decisive purpose within the 82nd minute. As soon as once more, Qatar have been removed from its greatest, with Iran outshooting them 23-15 on the night time, however Qatar’s attacker’s proficiency proved to be the important thing distinction.
The ultimate towards Jordan nonetheless ought to be taught in footballing colleges because the proof of how a lot of a bonus can expertise deliver to a crew. On an evening when Jordan performed good soccer, Qatar’s temperament gained them the title.
Qatar wins the @afcasiancup for the second time in a row after beating Jordan 3-1 🏆
Afif Ansari bagged a hattrick with the assistance of three penalties 🔥#AFCAsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/hLfmgCV8jV
— FootTheBall FC (@FootTheBallFC) February 10, 2024
All three of their targets got here from a penalty. Nevertheless, every of those penalties have been the results of a reckless problem from Jordan. Nevertheless, on nearer inspection, one sees a transparent sample in all three spot kicks.
Within the first, Afif’s fast footwork deceived Abdallah Nasib and compelled him to make simply sufficient of a problem to warrant a penalty. The second penalty, nonetheless, was the proper instance of how Jordan couldn’t deal with their nerves. The guests had simply received their equalizer, and Qatar have been on the again foot. Nevertheless, Mahmoud Al-Mardi made an pointless problem on the fringe of the field. When the problem was made, the ball was close to the sting of the purpose, and Qatar have been under no circumstances able to attain. Nevertheless, the nerves of a significant ultimate received to the Jordanians.
In the long run, Qatar confirmed that have could make up for a lot of shortcomings in a recreation, and it’s a proven fact that they’ve repeatedly proved.
