ABU DHABI (REUTERS) - Qatar wrestled their way past Iraq into the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup on Tuesday (Jan 22) when a stunning free kick from the son of a former Iraqi international gave them a 1-0 victory at Al Nahyan Stadium.
Defender Bassam Al-Rawi, whose father Hisham played for Iraq in the 1990s, found the net in the 62nd minute to decide a scrappy contest in favour of the 2022 World Cup hosts and set up a date with South Korea across town at Zayed Sports City on Friday.
Iraq, the 2007 champions, gave their all but paid the price for failing to take their chances and departed the continental tournament before the quarter-final stage for the first time since 1972.
Because of the current political and economic rift between the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, Iraq were cheered on by a noisy majority of the 14,000 crowd in the boutique ground, with barely a handful supporting the Maroons.
Qatar, who scored 10 goals and conceded none in the group stage, made the brighter start and left back Abdelkarim Hassan hit the bar in the fourth minute.
That was pretty much the extent of their threat on goal until he had a shot deflected onto the post just before the break, though, as the Qataris were muscled out of the game in midfield.
Iraq fared little better at the other end with Mohanad Ali having their best chance of breaking the deadlock in the 23rd minute as the 2007 champions started to make some progress with the ball over the top of the Qatari defence.
The young striker raced through on goal but Saad Al Sheeb bravely dived at his feet, with the goalkeeper getting a boot to the face for his efforts.
A defensive error put Qatar winger Akram Afif through early in the second half but his touch woefully betrayed him, and the ball trickled harmlessly to Iraq keeper Jalal Hassan.
It was a foul on the dangerous Afif on the lefthand corner of the box that led to the breakthrough just after the hour mark, Bassam stepping up and curling the ball over the wall and into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
The Qataris were charged with confidence by the goal and poured forward to pepper Hassan's goal with shots in the next 10 minutes before Iraq regained their grip on the midfield.
Iraq defender Ali Adnan went close to matching Bassam's effort from a free kick slightly further out in the 78th minute and twice Iraqi forwards flashed headers wide as they lay siege to the Qatar goal in the last few minutes.
But the Qataris held them out to register a fourth clean sheet in four matches at the tournament, almost outnumbering their small band of fans when they celebrated with them at the end.
Manchester City endured some anxious moments but escaped from fourth-tier Newport County with their FA Cup hopes intact as Phil Foden scored twice in a 4-1 fifth-round victory on Saturday. Newport
Solskjaer says his contract with Molde has expired, paving the way for him to take the Man Utd job Molde agreed to "lend" United Solskjaer until the end of the season following Jose Mourinho's
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms contract withMolde has expired
Nov 11, 2013 · 10 Ways To Become Better At Your Job Today. Susan Adams With the onslaught of email, texting, tweeting and everything else, it can be challenging to stay on top of your workload.
Here are 15 top jobs for a healthy work-life balance in the
Take leap abroad, but with eyes open. Faris Ramli sealed a deal with SPL side Hougang just weeks after the mutual termination of his contract with Perlis. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/HOUGANG UNITED.
17 things that change forever when you live abroad
Your Say; Football gifts but time ran out before they opted to sign Denis Suarez. That move ended badly with the Barcelona man failing to make a significant impact with Unai Emery deciding
Top-tier journalist Kristof Terreur: Unai Emery has been in
A small village in Argentina on Saturday prepared to bid farewell to a favorite son, the soccer striker Emiliano Sala, who died along with his pilot last month when his small plane crashed in the English Channel.Friends, family and supporters gathered early Saturday in the village of Progreso, in the country's northeast, for a wake at Mr. Sala's soccer boyhood club, San Martín de Progreso
Emiliano Sala's Grieving Argentine Hometown Bids Farewell
Klopp calm for the run-in, Football News & Top Stories - The
Football: Warriors banned from hiring foreign personnel Warriors FC forward Gabriel Quak (in red) vying with Geylang International's Firdaus Kasman during a Singapore Premier League match last month.
Magic Johnson calling out Rob Pelinka latest example of how
Football: West Ham's Michail Antonio scores winner as Spurs suffers first loss at new stadium Michail Antonio fired West Ham to a surprise 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Tottenham vs West Ham result, Premier League 2019 report
Disfruta de los mejores regates, caños, taconazos y todos los detalles del crack argentino con el FC Barcelona en LaLiga Santander 2017/2018 Suscríbete al ca
Messi - FC Barcelona: News and official stats - laliga.es
Valencia coach Marcelino insists the pressure will be on Arsenal when his side take on the Gunners in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals. Arsenal favourites for Europa League, says Valencia's
Arsenal, Chelsea, Valencia, Frankfurt in Europa League semis
Jurgen Klopp says players need to be looked after better or it will "kill the game" with the Champions League final scheduled five days before England's Nations League semi-final.
Sterling laments England's 'silly mistakes' in Nations League
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar