Qatar beat Uzbekistan in AFC U23 Championship
DOHA, January 10, 2018 - Almoez Ali's second half strike proved the difference as Qatar recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Uzbekistan in their AFC U23 Championship 2018 opener at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center on Tuesday.
The Al Duhail forward's goal leaves Qatar second in Group A behind table-topping China PR who beat Oman 3-0 in the day's earlier game.
In a closely fought first half, it was Uzbekistan who dominated the early proceedings, Zabikhillo Urinboev firing inches over following a neat interchange of passes with Dostonbek Khamdamov on the edge of the area after 14 minutes.
Qatar responded well however, with dynamic captain Ahmad Moein, a member of the squad when his country finished fourth at the tournament's last edition in 2016, fizzing a shot narrowly wide shortly after the half hour mark.
With Qatar clearly growing in confidence, midfielder Salem al-Hajri then rattled the Uzbekistan bar with a rasping drive from distance as the opening period came to an entertaining close.
Urinboev headed just wide of the target from a pinpoint Javokhir Sidikov free-kick shortly after the restart, before Qatar took the lead on 55 minutes in stunning fashion.
A swift move down the right saw the impressive Hashim Ali break into the box and deliver a delightful cross that the advancing Almoez rifled into the net past the despairing dive of Uzbekistan goalkeeper Dilshod Khamraev.
As Uzbekistan desperately pushed for an equaliser, successive Qatari counter-attacks saw Khamraev deny both Hisham and, in the game's dying embers, substitute Khaled Mohammed.
“It was always going to be a difficult game against Uzbekistan as we know they are tough opponents," said Qatar coach Felix Sanchez.
“I think the team did a very good job today and that they performed well in every department. I feel that one of the great strengths of this group of players is that they work very hard. They have a great spirit."
Uzbekistan coach Ravshan Khaydarov admitted the defeat left his team with a mountain to climb. “It was a very tough game for us today, and I feel that some of my players were not able to perform to their best ability, “ said Khaydarov.
“The result now leaves us in a rather difficult position in what is a very difficult group. We made too many mistakes and we must go away and see where and how we made those errors."
Qatar's next outing comes on Friday when they face Oman, while Uzbekistan will tackle host nation China. Meanwhile, host nation China PR began campaign in fine fashion yesterday thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over Oman at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center.
Goals from Yang Liyu, Li Xiaoming and Wei Shihao proved the difference on a bitterly cold afternoon, as China laid down an impressive early marker in a group which saw Qatar beat Uzbekistan 1-0 in their opening tie.
In what would prove to be an entertaining opening period, it was China who threatened first, Yang seeing his shot from 12 yards smothered by the visiting defence, and Beijing Guoan forward Wei forcing a smart save from Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim al-Mukhaini with 18 minutes gone.
With China in the ascendancy, Oman's defence was to be breached twice in quick succession, as first Yang expertly converted Li Shuai's pinpoint delivery on the half hour mark, and then Li Xiaoming headed home Wei's superb floated cross to double his side's advantage just four minutes later.
To their credit, Oman rallied briefly after the break, but the game was effectively ended as a contest in the 53rd minute when the impressive Wei powered home a header after being found by Yao Junsheng.
Omani defender Thani al-Rushaidi saw a close-range effort scrambled off the line by Gao Zhunyi shortly after, before Wei was stretchered off in the 66th minute following a hefty challenge much to the consternation of China head coach Massimiliano Maddaloni.
In the game's last meaningful action, substitute Liu Ruofan was expertly denied by al-Mukhaini on a day when China took a significant step towards reaching the knockout phase of the AFC U23 Championship for the first time.
Share this News
Google
Apple
Facebook