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.
Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League with a confident 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday. The win moves Juergen Klopps's side three points above second-placed
Premier League: Liverpool back on top after dominant win over
Ikhsan gets off mark in Norway His team were crying out for a saviour in Oslo, Norway, on Sunday and Ikhsan Fandi delivered. With one minute left and the game against Skeid tied at 2-2, five Raufoss IL players surged into the opponents' penalty box when Mikkel Maigaard whipped in a hopeful cross from the right.
Enables clubs and referees to administer their day to day activities Spurs at Wembley Spurs at Wembley. Spurs at Wembley. Spurs at Wembley
Read more about Liverpool's Klopp condemns 'disgusting' Salah abuse ahead of Chelsea clash on Business Standard. Jurgen Klopp has condemned "disgusting" racist abuse aimed at Mohamed Salah and called for lifetime bans for the Chelsea fans accused of taunting the Liverpool star.A video circulated on social media ahead of Chelsea's Europa League match at Slavia
Liverpool's Klopp condemns 'disgusting' Salah abuse ahead of
Shawal strikes for Geylang to make it seven SPL defeats for Young Lions Young Lions will face Home United FC a week later at Bishan Stadium while the Eagles get a short three-day break before
SPL - 10/21 - Shanghai Lions Football Club
shanghai-lions.com/category/spl/page/10/
In the first half the youngster were a bit afraid especially because the seniors took an early lead but the managed to score a goal back thru Thai Striker Bank, 3-1 at half time and in the second half the young Lions played good football and proved not to be a walk over.
Football Association of Singapore - spl.sg
spl.sg/singapore-premier-league-week-1-roundup/
- Young Lions have not beaten Balestier in any of their last nine encounters now, drawing one of those. - Huzaifah Aziz has now scored against Young Lions in each of Balestier's last three trips to Jalan Besar. - This is Balestier's first opening league win since 2010 (2-1 vs Hougang), having lost each of their last four.
Daily roundup: Chinese teen told adoptive father is prime
Defender Jan Vertonghen scored once and set up another goal for Son Heung-min as Tottenham Hotspur beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday to give them the clear edge following
Champions League: Vertonghen shines as Tottenham cruise past
Shiotani's rocket ensured Japan finished with a perfect nine points at the top of Group F as they beat Uzbekistan 2-1, despite changing 10 players from their previous game. Eldor Shomurodov opened the scoring with a fine individual goal but the Uzbek lead lasted only three minutes before Newcastle United forward Yoshinori Muto's header made it 1-1.
Shiotani fires Japan past Uzbeks, Qatar's Ali downs Saudis
Football News -. Read more at straitstimes.com. City's title surely but brighton no pushovers. Published. If Manchester City win at Brighton today, their 14th consecutive Premier League
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Title down to the last game for Man
301-joweb.newscyclecloud.com/sports-racing-guide/english-premier-league-title-down-to-the-last-game-for-man-city-liverpool_164318?profile=1498
Yes, City head into the game as overwhelming favourites with everyone to get the job done despite being away from home, but as Brighton are no pushovers and the likes of Manchester United, Wolves and Everton have felt the full force of Chris Haughton's side at the Amex stadium this season.
Brighton and Hove Albion 1 - 4 Manchester City: Finished
Manchester City remain a point behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race after a Sergio Aguero penalty secured them a 1-0 victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola's side
Aguero penalty gives Man City 1-0 win over West Ham - The
Pep Guardiola welcomed Gabriel Jesus's return to form as the Brazilian struck twice in a 3-1 win over Everton as Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League.
Jesus fires as Man City snatch top spot from Liverpool | Free
Search for missing football player resumes in English Channel. Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala feared dead after his plane disappeared over the English Channel on Monday. 23 Jan 2019 11:52 GMT.
Football: Search for missing Cardiff City's Emiliano Sala
0 comments:
Post a Comment