Qatar cruise
68’ Japan have had all the possession this half. Qatar will surely get tired at this rate, but the thing is, it isn’t a one goal lead they are protecting. It's two.
Qatar Beat Japan 3-1, Crowned Asian Football Champions - Highlights
Ali Almoez, Abdel Aziz Hatim and Akram Afif scored to give Qatar national football team a 3-1 victory against Japan football team in the AFC Asian Cup final in Abu Dhabi. Takumi Minamino scored for Japan. Get highlights and analysis of the Japan vs Qatar AFC Asian Cup 2019 final here.
Qatar national football team players celebrate after beating Japan to lift the AFC Asian Cup 2019. Get highlights of the Japan vs Qatar final here.
Qatar national football team beat Japan 3-1 to win the AFC Asian Cup 2019 crown in Abu Dhabi on February 1. Ali Almoez, Abdel Hziz Hatim and Akram Afif (from a penalty) found the target for Qatar while Takumi Minamino scored for Japan. (Get highlights and analysis of the Japan vs Qatar AFC Asian Cup 2019 final below.)
Earlier, Qatar took full control of the final after Almoez scored his ninth goal of the tournament (establishing a new record), and Hatim nailed a scorcher to give them a 2-0 lead going into half time. Japan, who began the match by controlling possession, lost shape after the two goals and were looking out of sorts and out of ideas up front.
Simply on this game’s showing (because tournaments are won IN the final) Qatar deserve this. They have been strong at the back, and looked dangerous regularly on the counter.
Two supreme individual efforts sealed the game for them. Which one was better? Almoez’ was ingenuity in a situation of no return. Back to goal, nothing to do except that. And boy did he do it.
Hatim’s was the perfect blend of philistine sledgehammer and artistic placement.
Japan stormed back in the second half and had Qatar in all sorts of bother. They pulled one back, and then a refereeing error killed the fun of the game. Regardless, a great final.
Live blog
Minamino strikes
69’ And as I type that, Takumi scores. After some deft passing around the Qatar box, Shiotami plays one through to Minamino who receives the ball from an Osako touch. He turns, runs and dinks it over the keeper. That’s the first goal Qatar have conceded this last month. Game on!!! Japan 1-2 Qatar
Shibasaki hits it long
71’ Some tired dodgy fouls coming Japan’s way now. They have a freekick 30 yards out but dragged out right. Shibasaki goes too long. That’s a waste.
Corner for Japan
73’ Nagatomo crosses from the left, with Japan shirts to aim at. Qatar clear and concede a corner.
... And another
74’ Boudiaf comes on for Al Haidos. The corner is at the near post again. Qatar concede another.
Too much of a variation
75’ The second corner’s variation is too much. It's wasted. Qatar win the ball finally, and try and work something. Japan close them down quickly before conceding a foul.
Japan play it tight
Arjun Pandit says,”Japan are doing well to work the tight spaces. Will be interesting to see how the young Qataris will react to conceding their first goal in a long time. Wise words.” 90-minutes is a long time.
Japan press for equaliser
77’ Another Japan corner, won smartly by Muto who has been a live wire since he has been on. There is a harried clearance and the ball falls to Yosida after a rebound and a pass. He passes when he should have taken a shot. Wasted. Desperate stuff.
Qatar counter
79’ Qatar launch a counter, Afif fluffs his legs though and the ball falls to Hatim again. He lines it up. Turns, puts it on his left, but its deflected high. That was definitely a chance. Corner to Qatar.
VAR in play
80’ VAR comes into play. The Qataris seem to think there was a Japa hand in the box there. The official is called on. The replays show that the ball did hit Yoshida’s hand. And he has awarded the penalty. It looked innocous and unintentional, but the referee obviously think otherwise. Qatar will seal this game with a goal now. That’s a bad call.
Afif scores, 3-1 Qatar
82’ Afif scores the penalty. Brace yourself UAE, Qatar have the trophy now. Almost. This is surely the nail in Japan’s coffin. Their fans and even the players look dejected. Japan 1-3 Qatar
Substitution by Japan
84’ Japan have made a substitution. Shiotani off and Junya Ito on. It's a desperate throw of the dice, and seems a bit in vain now.
VAR kills a good game
Bring on the VAR pasting, girls and boys. A really terrible call from the video referral. No chance Yoshida had his hand there voluntarily. Never a penalty. The gap between referring and football keeps growing and it’s about time serious decisions were taken at every level to bridge that. Should start by subjecting refs to press conferences, in my opinion.
Sakai booked
86’ Sakai is booked by the referee. Japan are now feeling truly victimised. And rightly perhaps. That was a foul, but not a yellow. No point cribbing now though boys.
Referee, the villain
87’ This game was perfectly set up for a final ten minutes worthy of a tournament final. Japan with all the momentum and the urgency, Qatar with all the desperation and heart. The referee has killed that.
Japan's last sub
88’ Japan’s final sub: Takashi Inui comes on.
Yoshida misses
89’ Off a freekick, Yoshida, four yards out puts it over the bar. He could’ve made Qatar very nervous at the very least. Tch.
VAR penalty: Split verdict
We are split down the middle when it comes to the penalty call. Leslie and Arjun see it as a clear penalty. Vaibhav and I don’t. Yes, it clearly hit the hand. Yes’ the hand was “up”. But there was no intent. His eyes were shut when he made contact with the ball, for the love of humanity!
Time for added time
90’ Final minute then. And added time of course of which there may be a bit considering the injury to Khoukhi.
5 minutes added
90 +1’ Five minutes added on. Japan press on regardless. Desperate. Trying.
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