19 Jan 2016
Doha, 19 January 2016. An enthusiastic 10,000-strong crowd saw Qatar qualify for the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship as the winners of Group A, following a 4-2 win against Syria at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium and sealing the team’s 100% record.
Yousef Kalfa put Syria into the lead just four minutes into the game, only for Abdelkarim Hassan to quickly net his fourth goal in three games, levelling the scores.
Ahmed Alaa-eldin then scored his third goal of the group stage after 25 minutes, before AlMoez Ali further extended the side’s advantage three minutes later. A late penalty from Syria’s Omar Kharbin threatened a comeback, but Ahmed Alaa-eldin secured the win with only eight minutes of play remaining, paving the way for Qatar to follow its earlier wins against China and Iran and securing a quarter-final match against the runners-up from Group B, which will take place back at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday this week.
“Our next game is the quarter-final, so there will be no second chances. We are going to compete and play well in the next game to try and reach the semi-final. The players are highly motivated and looking forward to playing their next game, and hopefully winning it, in order to reach the next stage,” commented Qatar’s coach Felix Sanchez.
In addition to Qatar successfully reaching the top of Group A, Abdelkarim Hassan and Ahmed Alaa-eldin have both currently scored the most goals in the tournament, with each having scored four goals in three games.
Qatar’s next opponents on the road to Rio will be the runners-up from Group B. This will be determined between Thailand, North Korea and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, and Qatar will play against the team at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday, January 22 (kick-off at 7.30pm).
See the highlights of the game here: http://youtu.be/CTQpcGBMKeA
U-23 AFC Championship, Matchday 3, Group A
Qatar vs. Syria 4-2 (3-1)
Goals: Abdelkarim Hassan (10’), Ahmed Alaa-eldin (24’, 82’), AlMoez Ali (28’); Yusef Kalfa (4’), Omar Kharbin (81’).
Source: www.the-afc.com