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 a superb Jordan facet, Qatar performed some exuberant soccer, and their brilliance within the remaining 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 group.
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 sphere towards Lebanon within the opening recreation of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, their principal goal 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, a great begin was wanted within the Asian Cup. And Qatar didn’t disappoint as they shortly scored three targets with out reply to start out their title defence in type. Their subsequent two video games have been 1-0 wins over Tajikistan and China, respectively, which earned them a prime spot. What was essential of their later two wins was how they’d managed to win regardless of being removed from their finest, a key characteristic for any title-winning group.
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. Nonetheless, as quickly as they cleared this hurdle, they simply gained their remaining two video games towards the United Arab Emirates (4-0) and Japan (3-1).
This time, although, their route was way more easy, however nonetheless, Qatar didn’t carry out at their 2019 stage. Nonetheless, Qatar had one trick up its sleeve: expertise. That they had one earlier than and knew find out how to calm their nerves in crunch conditions.
The primary check of it got here towards Palestine. In a tightly contested recreation, Bassam Al Rawi bought the decisive objective. Iraq had outshot the defending champions 11-9 on the night time. As well as, Palestine additionally had extra pictures 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 group. Nonetheless, Uzbekistan proved to be one of the vital formidable challengers for the Gulf nation in current instances.
The sport was tied at 1-1 on the finish of 90 minutes, which meant additional 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 objective.
Qatar once more fell again on their expertise and gained 3-2 on penalties to scrape by to the semi-final by the barest of margins.
Ready for them within the remaining 4 was Irah, the one group aside from Qatar, who nonetheless had a 100 per cent profitable 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 Jassem Gaber 13 minutes later; Qatar ended the primary half with a 2-1 lead after Afif scored his fifth objective 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 bought what turned out to be the decisive objective within the 82nd minute. As soon as once more, Qatar have been removed from its finest, 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 needs to be taught in footballing faculties because the proof of how a lot of a bonus can expertise convey to a group. On an evening when Jordan performed sensible 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. Nonetheless, every of those penalties have been the results of a reckless problem from Jordan. Nonetheless, 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 bought their equalizer, and Qatar have been on the again foot. Nonetheless, 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 objective, and Qatar have been by no means able to attain. Nonetheless, the nerves of a serious remaining bought 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 undeniable fact that they’ve repeatedly proved.