The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday rallied for a fighting 3-1 win over Asian champions Qatar in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Qatar opened the scoring through Ibrahim al-Hasan in the 38th minute in what was the 18-year-old’s first international goal for the home team.

Harib Abdalla Suhail (68th minute), Khaled Ebraheim (80) and Ali Saleh (90+4) sealed UAE’s first over Qatar since Jan 2015. It was UAE’s first win on Qatar soil since 2001. It was Qatar’s first loss under new coach Marquez Lopez in over nine months. For rival coach Paulo Bento, it was a welcome relief for UAE who exited the AFC Asian Cup at the Round of 16 stage earlier this year in Qatar.

“It was a difficult for us. We started well in the first half. We were the better side and succeeded in scoring the lead goal but missed some other opportunities,” Qatar defender Tareq Salman said.

“In the second half, there were some individual mistakes that the UAE national team exploited to score three goals. The players feel we must work hard on correcting the mistakes in the future. We want to tell our fans that we will rectify our mistakes in the upcoming matches. We will work hard since the journey is still long in the qualifiers,” he added.

While the first half belonged to Qatar, Bento’s spirited UAE side responded with three goals in the second. A bicycle kick in the second minute by Qatar forward Jassem Gaber inside the UAE box was wayward but the intent was obvious from the home side.

Defender Lucas Mendes headed away on a loopy cross from Kouame Autonne following a deep lob from the flank by Yahya al-Ghassani with a cross in the 12th minute. The game got held up twice in quick succession when al-Ghassani (17h minute) and Yahia Nader (18th minute) called for medical help. In the 25th minute, UAE’s Autonne got booked with a yellow card for a reckless foul.

Close to the half hour mark, Gaber headed from very close range but the ball flew high following an assist by striker Akram Afif with a cross following a corner.

In the 35th minute, Al Duhail captain Almoez Ali launched a right-footed shot from the right side of the box but it was blocked following an assist by Ismail Mohamed. Three minutes later, Qatar opened the scoring thanks largely to Afif’s deft pass that found young al-Hassan close by. The 18-year-old slipped in a right-footed shot from the centre of the UAE box to the bottom right corner for the home team’s only goal.

Six minutes into the second half, Afif drilled a right-footed shot from outside the box but the ball flew high and wide of the UAE goalmouth following a corner kick. Close to the hour-mark, Afif found Almoez with a loopy header near the UAE box but UAE’s Ivorian-born defender Autonne was alive to the situation to thwart the Al Duhail forward.

UAE’s Abdullah Hamad in a desperate attempt for an equaliser launched a long-range shot but was found wanting on the angle. Moments later, UAE’s Tahnoon al-Zaabi drilled a curling left-footed drive from outside the Qatar box. Al-Zaabi’s shot hit the outside of the net with keeper Meshaal Barsham beaten by the flight of the ball in the 63rd minute.

With momentum on their side, UAE produced a classy equaliser from inside the Qatar box. Suhail delivered a beautiful curling left-footed shot from about 10 yards out to bring things level at 1-1 at a packed Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium. The ball flew past the outstretched hand of keeper Barsham before thudding into the net.

UAE continued to apply pressure with an attacking game in the last 20 minutes of the match resulting in two quick goals. In a fast break in the 80th minute, Ebraheim – after an assist from Suhail – drilled a left-footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner of Qatar goal.
Substitute MacKenzie Hunt – after replacing al-Zaabi in the 89th minute – made an immediate impact. Four minutes into injury time, Hunt found Saleh with a through ball. Quick-footed Saleh had the time and space to drill a left-footed shot to the top left corner of the Qatar goalmouth.
A few minutes earlier, Qatar had a penalty denied following a long VAR decision in the 86th minute.

Qatar now fly to Laos to take on North Korea on September 10. Asian giants Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are the other teams in Group A.

 

 

 

 

 

© Gulf Times Newspaper 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).