By defeating Tajikistan 1-0, Qatar earned a total of 6 points after two matches, advancing straight to the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup as group A winners.
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| Qatar team competes at the 2023 Asian Cup. (Source: Getty Images) |
Qatar team enters the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup
The home team Qatar continued to enjoy the joy of winning 1-0 against Tajikistan in the second match of Group A of the 2023 Asian Cup.
The victory over Tajikistan gave the defending champions a perfect six points (goal difference +4). They had previously beaten Lebanon 3-0 on the opening day.
This result helps coach Tintin Marquez's team officially become the first team to participate in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup.
Qatar has also secured first place in Group A, 4 points ahead of second-placed China, with only one more match remaining.
China is also the final opponent in the group stage of the Qatar team (the match will take place on January 22 at Khalifa International Stadium).
In the match at Al Bayt Stadium, the Tajikistan team proactively played high from the start to look for a goal but failed to take advantage of the opportunity and instead conceded an early goal.
In the 17th minute, Akram Afif got down to receive a pass from Almoez Ali, then easily finished the ball into Tajikistan's net, opening the score 1-0 for the home team.
This is also Akram Afif's third goal at the 2023 Asian Cup, after scoring a double against the Lebanese team on the opening day.
After scoring, Qatar played more comfortably. They controlled the ball and did not allow Tajikistan to develop their play. In fact, if they had taken advantage of their opportunities, the defending champions could have scored another goal in the first half.
In the second half, Qatar continued to be the better team and had a big advantage in terms of force when Tajikistan's Amadoni Kamolov received a red card after kicking a home team player in the face in the 79th minute.
However, coach Tintin Marquez's students did not score any more goals, thereby winning 1-0 overall.
This result left many people unsatisfied but was enough to send Qatar straight into the knockout round one match early, while Tajikistan still had a chance to continue.
China team draws with Lebanon
In the previous match in this group, the Chinese team, although rated higher, only won 1 point after a 0-0 draw against the Lebanese team.
This is also the second consecutive match that the Chinese team has drawn goalless, the previous one was with the Tajikistan team.
China could have even conceded defeat in this match if luck had not been on their side when the ball hit the crossbar twice after shots by Hassan Maatouk and Hasan Srour.
Thus, after two matches in group A, the Chinese team has 2 points but all sub-indices are 0 (0 goals scored, 0 goals conceded).
Asian Cup 20223 Group A: Matchday 3
In the final match, the Chinese team will face the biggest challenge, which is having to face the host team Qatar.
It was just a formality match for defending champion Qatar because they had already advanced to the top of the group, but for China it would be a "life and death" match.
The Chinese team needs to win against host Qatar to get the second direct ticket to represent Group A to continue to the knockout round.
In case of a draw, China will still have second place in the group if in the match at the same time Lebanon and Tajikistan also tie each other with a "draw" result.
If they draw and only finish third, China will have to hope to be one of the four best third-placed teams. However, with a goal difference of zero, they will face many difficulties when competing for additional indexes.
In the remaining match, Lebanon and Tajikistan, both with 1 point, will face each other in a match that will decide the "fate" of both.
Whichever team wins this match will either qualify directly (in case China does not win) or have a good chance of competing for the third place with the best record with the remaining groups.
( according to Vietnam+ )
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