Qatar’s captain Akram Afif (left) celebrates with Ahmed Al Rawi after scoring his team’s third goal against Kuwait, yesterday. AFP
Doha, Qatar: Akram Afif celebrated his promotion as Qatar captain by scoring a brace as the reigning double Asian champions blanked Kuwait 3-0 at FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 joint qualifiers last night.
Replacing retired Hassan Al Haydos as skipper, Afif scored the opener in 47th minute and netted his second goal in 68th minute as Qatar overcame a sluggish first half to secure their third straight win in the second qualifying round at Al Sadd’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Young Al Rayyan forward Ahmed Al Rawi, sent in by head coach Marquez Lopez in the second half, scored the other goal in 51st minute as Qatar consolidated their top spot in Group A with nine points.
Al Annabi, who defeated Afghanistan and India in their first two group matches in November, will advance to the next stage of World Cup qualifiers if they beat Rui Bento-coached Kuwait in a reverse fixture on March 26.
Ahmed Al Rawi (left) celebrates with Mohammed Waad after scoring Qatar's second goal yesterday.
“We are happy with a 3-0 win as we did not disappoint our fans,” Qatar’s Mohammed Waad said after the victory.
“We want to top the group by maintaining our winning streak. Now we will shift our focus on next match against Kuwait,” he added.
Kuwait, who stayed on three points, slipped to third position in the group, with India replacing them in second place after taking their tally to four following a goalless draw against bottom side Afghanistan at Damac Stadium in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia yesterday.
Qatar did not start the way as expected from a side returning to action after clinching seven straight victories to retain their Asian Cup title last month.
Though Al Annabi dominated the ball possession, they struggled to find spaces in the final third against their opponents, ranked 100 places lower than them in the FIFA rankings with 137th spot.
Jassem Gaber had an early attempt but his shot from outside the box was deflected off Kuwait defender Hasan Alanezi.
Waad and Almoez Ali also had failed attempts in the first half while the visitors also had a chance to score in the first half but Yousef Al Sulaiman’s hit was not impressive after he received a rebound from goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, who tried to block a cross.
Afif had Qatar’s first shot on target six minutes before half-time but Kuwait goalkeeper Sulaiman Abdulghafoor faced little difficulty in stopping his hit from around 20 yards outside the box.
The wait for home fans, who turned out in huge numbers, ended soon after the break as Afif broke the deadlock with a hit from a close range after receiving a ball deflected off a Kuwait defender following Waad’s long cross from left.
Lopez’s second-half substitutes Al Rawi and Ismaeel Mohammad had both made impact after replacing Mahdi Salem and Abdullah Marafee.
Al Rawi gave Qatar a two-goal advantage after the ball ricocheted back to him following his superb strike from outside the box, which was blocked by goalkeeper Abdulghafoor.
Ismaeel then assisted Afif for his second goal with a cross from the right. Afif, who was the top scorer at the Asian Cup with eight goals, took his tally to 10 international goals in 2024.
Salah Zakaria guarded Qatar goal for final 20 minutes after injury to Barsham.
Al Rawi and substitute Ahmed Alganehi came close to scoring late in the match but Kuwait avoided further blows, hoping to bounce back at their home ground in the second game of the double-header against the Asian champions.
"Qatar dominated in the second half and managed to score three goals. The players lost focus and made some mistakes which cost us," said Kuwait coach Bento after the defeat.
