Qatar makes history in World Cup qualifiers

In the 61st minute of the "Gulf derby", Akram Afif crossed the ball just in time for Boualem Khoukhi to jump high and head the ball powerfully, opening the score for Qatar.

12 minutes later, the Thani bin Jassim stadium erupted again when the UAE net shook for the second time. Miguel Pedro took advantage of the opponent goalkeeper's mistake to double the gap for the 2022 World Cup host. A late effort only helped UAE score a goal to shorten the score in the 90+8 minute, after Sultan Adil's tricky shot.

Qatar defeated UAE to take the top spot in Group A, the 4th round of Asian qualifiers with 4 points, just one point more than their opponent. UAE can only blame themselves for not being able to take advantage of the advantage, thus missing out on the World Cup ticket after nearly 3 decades of waiting.

Qatar becomes the next Asian representative to win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Qatari football has entered a new page in history, when for the first time in history it qualified for a World Cup without being the host. The evenly matched squad including Afif, Almoez Ali,..., under the guidance of coach Julen Lopetegui is ready to create a surprise in the tournament taking place in the Americas next year.

Qatar deserved to win, thanks to their modern and effective style of play. "The Maroons" defended tightly and showed danger in every transition phase. If Afif and Al Mannai had been more careful, the match would have been decided in the first half.

On the other hand, UAE also had many chances but the white-shirted strikers all shot the ball wide of the goal. In the final minutes of the match, Qatar had one player sent off, the referee called for 15 minutes of extra time but UAE still could not turn the game around. Coach Cosmin Olaroiu and his team had to settle for second place and face the risk of an intercontinental play-off against strong opponents from South America or Africa.

Source: https://znews.vn/qatar-lam-nen-lich-su-o-vong-loai-world-cup-post1593834.html