By Samindra Kunti in Doha
December 11 – Hosts Qatar stormed into the last four of the Arab Cup with a thumping 5-0 victory against the United Arab Emirates. They will be the Middle East’s last representatives in the competition, with Northern African trio Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria completing the semi-final field.
On a night of Qatari assertion, the Al Annabi excelled, much to the delight of the locals in a record-breaking 63,439 crowd. Al Bayt Stadium provided a glimpse of next year’s World Cup in Qatar. Congested roads, a mammoth venue, an electric atmosphere, home interest and a Qatari display to match the occasion. Qatar’s 5-0 first-half demolition lit up the Arab Cup.
With a significant number of Qatari nationals in the stands, the match was the best attended single sporting event in the country’s history, dwarfing any numbers from the slate of major tournaments and competitions across various sports that Qatar has hosted. The pressure, then, was on the hosts and Felix Sanchez’s men responded in style.
After six minutes Qatar went ahead through an own-goal from Ali Salmin following sloppy defending from the UAE. Before the half hour, Almoez Ali converted a penalty to double the lead. Soon the match was no longer a contest. From the spot, veteran Boualem Khoukhi blasted a third past Ali Khaseif. The sweetest strike of the half came from the foot of Abdulaziz Hatem who found the top right corner following a sweeping move in the 44th minute. Just about onside, Almoez Ali got a 5th before the break.
The UAE endured a horrid, error-strewn fist-half. Bert Van Marwijk’s team had 73% of possession, but failed to register a single shot on target, a reflection of the UAE’s group stage performances.
In an academic second half, a five-star Qatar spared their rivals, with Khoukhi’s header ricocheting off the crossbar in the 72nd minute. Even so, a packed Al Bayt Stadium reveled in the host’s dominance. Following the lifting of the Saudi-led blockade, relations been the two countries have warmed, but the sense of rivalry hasn’t dissipated. At the 2019 Asian Cup, Qatar eliminated the UAE 4-0 in the semi-finals before winning the tournament.
At a news conference, Qatar’s coach Sanchez said: “We showed a strong performance in the first half which made the second half comfortable for us. Fans created a great atmosphere and helped us in the victory.”
His counterpart Van Marwijk had a peculiar view of the match. “It sounds crazy, ‘but in the first half we played good football’, but those words will not help the Dutchman much,” commented the Dutchman.
The Arab Cup humiliation follows underwhelming results in World Cup qualifying and leave Van Marwijk on the brink.
Competitiveness was not in short supply in the other three semi-finals. The North African sides eliminated the other remaining participants from the Arab peninsula. A lethargic Egypt required extra-time to overcome Jordan 3-1 and Tunisia knocked a spirited Oman out 2-1.
Morocco vs Algeria, highly anticipated, was a seesaw encounter that needed penalties to decide a winner. There was very little between the two North African rivals in a cagey 90 minutes of midfield battles and few chances. Sloppy in possession and conceding too many free kicks, Morocco were let off the hook by an off-colour Algeria.
A second half penalty from Yacine Brahimi ignited the match with Morocco responding two minutes later through Mohammed Nahiri to draw level. Extra-time provided more drama, with a stunning striker from Mohammed Belaili and a Badr Bedouin equalizer. From the penalty spot, the African champions prevailed 5-3.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1736745075labto1736745075ofdlr1736745075owedi1736745075sni@i1736745075tnuk.1736745075ardni1736745075mas1736745075
