18 Nov 2015
Thimphu, 18 November 2015. Congratulations to Aspire Academy graduate Akram Afif who earned a place in the starting eleven of the Qatar national team on Tuesday for the first time. He also showed real promise and made a significant contribution during his side’s comprehensive 3 – 0 away win against Bhutan.
Daniel Carreno, Qatar’s head coach demonstrated his faith in Afif by including him in the side from the starting whistle. It didn’t take long for the 19 year old, currently playing for KAS Eupen in Belgium, to repay his trust when Mohammed Muntari connected with his cross from the left after 22 minutes to score Qatar’s opening goal.
In total Akram Afif played 74 minutes during the game which was a preliminary qualifying match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE.
Qatar sits at the top of Group C with 18 points and will as group winner advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and to the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.