Action from the Under-23 ASian Cup semi-final match between Qatar and Vietnam in Changzhou, China yesterday. Vietnam won 6-5 in the penalty shoot-out.
CHANGZHOU: Vietnam yesterday edged Qatar in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup to set up a title showdown against Uzbekistan on Saturday.
In the second semi-final, Uzbekistan handed 10-man Korea Republic a 4-1 defeat in extra-time.
The clash between Qatar and Vietnam saw the two sides finish extra time at 2-2, with Vietnam emerging on top in the spot-kick drama 6-5 at the Changzhou Sports Centre.
Goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung emerged as the hero as he saved two penalties - an effort that sensationally booked them a place in the final.
Akram Afif opened the scoring in the 39th minute while star striker Almoez Ali fired one goal in the 87th minute in regulation time. Afif gave Qatar the lead by converting a penalty kick. Ali found the net with a close-range shot after a corner kick.
Despite conceding the first goal, striker Nguyen Quang Hai scored a brace to bring Vietnam back into the game in which Qatar had taken lead twice.
In the penalty shootout, Tien Dung stopped efforts from Qatari duo Ahmad Moein and Sultan Al Brake to seal the victory, one which continues Vietnam’s incredible journey in the competition under the wily guidance of head coach Park Hang-seo.
While the victory moves Vietnam, incredibly, a step nearer to the title, it sees Qatar fall at the semi-final stage for the second successive competition following their fourth-place finish at the tournament’s last edition in 2016.
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez is adamant that the West Asian nation’s players will continue to develop, despite the disappointment of falling at the semi-final hurdle, just at they did at the competition’s 2016 edition.
“It was a very tough game against a very good team,” Sanchez said after the match.
“We hope that the players will look back and realise that they had a good tournament. In football, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Today, it was our turn to lose, but I am pretty sure they are going to continue (to grow), he added.
“As players they never give up and I am sure they are going to do very well in the future. I believe they will do just that,” the Spaniard said.
In a game that eventually went the distance of 120 minutes, Qatar dominated proceedings with sublime football in regulation time. Ali, who finished the tournament with 6 goals to his name, and Afif attacked the Vietnamese box regularly.
With a place in the final potentially only 90 minutes away, the opening period proved to be a cagey affair, as Qatar, with captain Moein pulling the strings in midfield, constantly prodded and probed a resolute Vietnamese backline which refused to give an inch.
Indeed, a Bassam Al Rawi free-kick from range in the 36th minute was the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock, until defender Bui Tien Dung’s foul on striker Ali in the penalty area just three minutes later saw referee Muhammad Taqi point to the spot. The dynamic Afif duly kept his nerve to convert from 12 yards and hand Qatar a slender advantage ahead of the break.
However, after seeing Ali - the tournament’s leading goalscorer - fire narrowly over the bar shortly after the restart,s Vietnam were soon to draw level. Quang Hai was at the heart of things for the Southeast Asians, first seeing his free-kick rattle the bar and then, following Qatar’s inability to clear Nguyen Phong Hong Duy’s cross, pouncing to slam the ball home from close-range to claim an equaliser on 69 minutes. Qatar duly responded with an Afif shot from distance, before they regained the lead through Ali’s scrambled 84th minute effort, only to lose it again in dramatic fashion moments later when Quang Hai curled a superb shot past Mohammed Al Bakari to signal the need for extra-time.
By way of contrast to what had just gone before, chances were few and far between during the additional 30 minutes, leaving Tien Dung to emerge as the hero in the subsequent penalty shootout as Vietnam celebrated wildly and Qatari hearts were broken.
Qatar reached the semifinals with wins over Uzbekistan, Oman, China and Palestine.
Al Anabi will now play the 3rd-4th place playoff against Korea Republic.
