AL KHOR (Qatar): Two moments of brilliance by Qatar striker Akram Afif were enough to catapult his team into the 2023 Asian Cup quarterfinals after they beat Palestine 2-1 in their second-round match here last night (early morning Malaysian time).
The 27-year-old not only engineered his team’s equaliser but also scored the winning goal at Al Bayt Stadium even though Palestine fought bravely after managing to qualify for the knockout stage for their very first time.
The Palestinians played well in the first half, and came close to scoring in the 19th minute with a shot outside the penalty box by Ameed Mahajneh that forced Qatar keeper Meshaal Barsham into action and slap the ball away. They threatened once again in the 24th minute but Oday Dabbagh’s shot ballooned high above the crossbar.
The Palestinians’ perseverance paid off in the 37th minute when Barsham failed to keep Dabbagh’s shot to the right corner out, and ended Qatar’s clean sheet for the finals.
Qatar remained undeterred and a moment of brilliance by Afif resulted in a beautiful corner kick that befuddled the Palestinian defence to allow Qatar team captain Hasan Al Haydos to head in the ball during injury time of the first half.
Buoyed by the equaliser, Qatar only needed four minutes after halftime began to score the winning goal and clinch their quarterfinal berth, thanks to Afif’s penalty after teammate Almoez Ali was fouled by Mohammed Saleh.
The penalty is Afif’s fourth goal of the tournament, and puts him closer to leading goal scorer Aymen Hussein of Iraq, who has six goals thus far.
Qatar will meet the winner of today’s match between Uzbekistan and Thailand at Al Janoub Stadium, Doha. – BERNAMA
