Qatar Beat Japan 3-1, Crowned Asian Football Champions - Highlights

The question to be put to Siddhanth (a die-hard France football aficionado then) is this: Was Perisic’s handball any more deliberate? His vision was blocked by a French attacker in the final when the ball hit his hand.

90 + 2’ Qatar’s managing staff are at the edge of the box. Qatar, 93rd ranked Qatar are on the verge of winning the Asian Cup.

90 + 4’ Japan have another corner. And the result is as has been through the game. Two words. Qatar. Clear.

90 + 5’ Almoez is subbed off. He gets an ovation and kiss on the cheek by his teammate Hassan for his efforts.

Moments later, the referee blows the whistle. Qatar are champions of Asia. Take that logic, predictions and orthodoxy. There is a new playa in town. And Xavi endorses it.

To answer Vaibhav’s question: 1) Has nothing to do with which team I may be supporting. 2) Perisic was a foot or two behind Blaise Matuidi, and positioned perfectly to watch the flight of the ball from the corner. That Matuidi lost balance and did not meet the ball with his head in the first place was probably because Perisic shoved him from behind. 3) Even if he didn't, Perisic clearly followed the ball, stuck his hand out, and the pulled away. Completely different scenario. We can discuss the other hypotheticals over a cold bevvy later.   

Full credit to Star Sports here, for broadcasting a full interview with a Japanese player, in Japanese. No translations. Thanks guys.

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. Oof. Which one was better? Almoez’s 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. Japan will be disappointed, but in fairness, five finals in eight editions displays a different dimension of consistency. If anything, Qatar with their first triumph will learn from that. And if they do, we truly do have a new team in Asia, and a completely different model that has created it.

Gianni Infantino follows Park ji Sung (who has the trophy). He is flanked by AFC president Salman Bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa. There are three Emiratis on the stage. Eep.

Saad Al Sheeb wins the best goalkeeper of the tournament. One goal conceded. No sweat. He has not needed another jersey the whole tournament.

Ali Almoez, the 22-year-old has won the highest goal scorer. Obviously. We shall see more of this guy over the years surely. And perhaps in Europe soon.

Most Valuable Player: Almoez again. A defender from Qatar should have been considered here. Seriously. What is that old adage about attacks win plaudits but defence wins matches?

Japan trudge up to receive their silvers. This will be disappointing for them. They are still the golden standard of Asia. Nobody loses here actually. Surely Moriyasu will disagree. He doesn’t manage to do the precious double.

And now it is time for Qatar. They are being pretty calm it must be said, for a team that has won their first Asian Cup. Khoukhi by the way is back to get his medal and partake in this moment. Thankfully the injury wasn’t serious enough to deny him this joy.

Trophy time. And it’s the AFC president who does the honours. Phew.

That’s that then. Qatar win the Asian Cup 2019. They will take that trophy home from the UAE and keep it safe for four years now. That’s a wrap. Thanks for following our coverage through the tournament. We will have a lot more football coverage for you to read, watch and comment on. Please do stay tuned. Stay safe and warm. Good night!