13 Oct 2018
Doha, 13 October 2018. Aspire Academy graduates and Qatar national team players were at the heart of some of the beautiful football and goals that helped Qatar beat Ecuador 4-3 in an entertaining friendly at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium at Al Sadd Sports Club on Friday 12 October 2018.
Aspire graduates, Almoez Ali (2 goals) and Akram Afif scored as did Qatar captain, Hassan Al Haydos. Encouraged by a strong crowd (more than 11,000) who thronged to the stadium Qatar put on an impressive display and managed to beat the South Americans for the first time in three meetings. The seven-goal thriller served up a treat for the spectators as Qatar used the match as part of Asian Cup 2019 preparations.
Akram Afif broke the deadlock with a side-footed shot from inside the box to register the opening goal on 32 minutes. Four minutes later, Almoez Ali doubled the lead for Qatar with a blistering strike to beat goalkeeper Dominguez Alexander. Almoez restored Qatar's three-goal advantage with a sumptuous finish. Beating two players before picking his spot to make it 4-1 in the 68th minute.
Ecuador gave their resident fans something to cheer with two goals from the boot of their captain Enner Valencia.
Qatar head coach, Felix Sanchez said after the match, “I am very happy with the result and our performance. The opposition scored twice in the closing minutes after we had dominated until the 65th minute. The team is jellying well as a group and I am happy with their adaptation and progress. They must continue to work hard as we prepare for Asia Cup and each game gives us chance to continue improving. We have another tough match on Tuesday 16 October against Uzbekistan and are already looking forward to that challenge.”
Speaking after the match, Ecuador coach, Hernan Dario Gomez said, "It a difficult game for us and Qatar was very strong. They won most of the one on one battles. The jet lag seems to have affected my players as we were second best to the ball most of the time. The players were exhausted considering the distance we travelled, and this probably explains some of the mistakes we made in the match. I like the Qatar team. They looked quick and good in one-on-one situations. I think playing like this they will cope well in Brazil at the Copa America."