10 Sep 2014
Doha, 10 September, 2014. On Tuesday evening the under19 national team of Qatar beat Chile to win the “International U19 Tournament” that was played at Aspire Academy. In the thrilling final the Qatari won 6-5 after penalties.
The game had ended with a 1-1 draw after full-time, thanks to an equalizer from Almoez Abdulla (54’) that brought the team of Qatar back into the game, after Cristian Cuevas scored the lead for Chile in the first half (39’). In the penalty shoot-out five players of Qatar converted their penalty shots, while Chile scored four times.
“We expected a tight game and knew that a strong performance would be necessary to beat Chile, so it was important that our players stayed focused until the very last second of the game. A penalty shoot-out is always a bit of a gamble, but again, the players, were very concentrated and kept a cool head,” Felix Sanchez, Head Coach of Qatar’s U19, commented on winning the tournament.