Qatar's players celebrate with their forward #10 Hassan Al-Haydos after he scored their first goal during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group A football match between Qatar and China at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on January 22, 2024. (Photo by Karim Jaafar / AFP)
Hassan Al Haydos came off the bench to smash a second-half stunner as defending champions Qatar defeated China 1-0 for their third consecutive victory at the AFC Asian Cup yesterday.
China paid for missed opportunities at the Khalifa International Stadium as the fate of Aleksandar Jankovic’s side now hangs by a thread with debutants Tajikistan reaching the last 16 after dramatic 2-1 victory over Lebanon in other Group A match.
Qatar will take on one of the third-placed sides from the group stage in Round of 16 on January 29.
Having already sealed top spot in the group with back-to-back wins, the hosts entered the pitch with a new-look side as coach Marquez Lopez made nine changes also benching in-form forward Akram Afif, striker Almoez Ali, goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham and Al Haydos.
Qatar supporters unfurl a giant national flag in the stands before the start of the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group A football match between Qatar and China at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on January 22, 2024. (Photo by Giuseppe Cacace / AFP)
Only two minutes after being sent in, both Afif and Al Haydos instantly made the difference and the Al Sadd pair was behind the winning goal in 66th minute that extended Qatar’s Asian Cup winning streak to 10 games.
Afif with a cross picked out Al Haydos waiting outside the box and the seasoned forward fired the volley into the net to spark jubilation across the venue that saw a turnout of over 42000.
After his stunning strike that can be declared the best goal of the tournament, Al Haydos became the first Qatar player to score in three Asian Cup editions – 2015, 2019 and 2023, surpassing Mansour Muftah (1980, 1988), Khaled Salman (1984, 1988), Mahmoud Soufi (1988, 1992) and Sebastian Soria (2007, 2011).
"All 26 players played in our three matches and we gave a spectacular performance," said Al Haydos.
"These three points are very important for our morale. We have finished with maximum points and now we will concentrate on the last 16."
China, who played goalless draws against Tajikistan and Lebanon, had thought to score an equaliser through Jiang Shenglong three minutes before time but the goal was ruled out after linesman adjudged the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.
They had their chances in the first half and came close to scoring in 36th minute but seasoned goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb showed glimpse of his brilliance of the 2019 edition, blocking a hit from a close range by Wei Shihao.
Al Sheeb was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament conceding only one goal throughout Qatar’s 2019 Asian Cup title run.
Qatar’s Hassan Al Haydos (foreground) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against China, yesterday. AFP
Shihao, meanwhile, had earlier squandered an opportunity missing the target from centre of the box after a ball from Zhang Yuning in the seventh minute.
With the pair of Akram and Almoez missing, Qatar had a slow start but the hosts started creating opportunities later on with Abdulaziz Hatem’s left-footed shot just missing the left corner.
Yusuf Abdurisag and Khalid Muneer also had attempts before the first half culminated with Wei Shihao failing to score in back-to-back chances in injury time that included a header from Lin Liangming’s cross that just missed the target.
Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria, who came to action after half-time replacing Al Sheeb, could hardly get 20 minutes of play before he was replaced by Barsham after clashing heads with a Chinese player.
With Qatar and Tajikistan finishing on top of the group respectively, China, who are yet to score in the tournament, will have to wait and see about their chances of advancing as one of the four best third-placed sides.
"At this moment we are not lucky to score but this is something very important for the future," said Jankovic.
"I'm sure that the moment will come when all these balls will go in."
