Kuwait coach soaks in the pressure “The Gulf Cup started even before the first whistle. Such is the momentum that it accompanies” WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019 PAGE 12 Qasem strikes a brace as Iraq sizzle to steal opening show Abdulaziz pulls Scoreline one back Iraq 2 (MOhammad Qasem 18’, 27’) bt for Qatar Qatar 1 (Abdulaziz AYENI OLUSEGUN Hatem 49’) DOHA United Arab Emirates 3 MOHAMMED Qasem’s first- (Ali Mabkhout 21’, 38’, half brace stunned a packed 54’) bt Yemen 0 Khalifa International Stadium as Iraq earned a famous victo- ry, beating hosts Qatar 2-1 in too many times but now we their opening Group A match move on to the next one. No in Doha on Tuesday. time to regret and we will The 40-thousand capac- prepare for the next one. No- ity stadium was nearly sold body likes to lose especially out as 37,890 fans packed the playing at home. But this is iconic Khalifa. football, but we tried unfor- A glorious opening cer- tunately not as effective as we emony with The Amir HH can. This is a strong group of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al players and we will be back in Thani in attendance opened in the next match,” Sanchez said what turned out to be a thrill- after the match. ing start to the 24th Arabian Sanchez made a change at Gulf Cup. the start of the first half bring- Qatar coach Felix Sanchez ing on midfielder Abdulaziz opted for youngster Yusuf Ab- Hatem for Yusf. The substitu- durisag and perhaps the occa- tion paid off almost immedi- sion was a bit too much for the Iraq players and staff celebrate their Group A 2-1 opening win over hosts Qatar at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday. Mohammad Qasem is on the extreme right (No. ately as Hatem fired his first 20-year-old, who was guilty of 19). effort into the roof of the net a number of poor decisions. two minutes into the second The team also lost Bassam half as the Khalifa Stadium al Rawi to what appeared to be roared back to life. an ankle injury. Sanchez soon showed his Qatar began brightly intent to win bringing on Al against a ‘depleted’ Iraq team Duhail striker Mohammed which had only players and Muntari for defender Tarek two goalkeepers on the eve of Salman. Muntari soon linked the match. up with club teammate Al- Akram Afif tested goal- moez but the forward’s effort keeper Jalal Hajem after a was diverted for a corner. cross from Abdurisag found Qatar had a big chance to him unmarked in the box. level the scores on the stroke Qatar settled quickly into the of 90 minutes when Muntari match and soon, a swift link was played through on goal by up play almost yielded the Haydos but the lanky striker opener. Afif found Almoez with just the goalkeeper to Ali who exchanged passes beat got it all wrong as his at- with Boualem Khoukhi, but tempted pass to Almoez was Almoez’s final effort skid- cut out by the retreating Iraq ded narrowly wide for a defence. goal-kick. Iraq’s Mohammad Qasem (right) after scoring one of his two goals. “Before the game I said Iraq responded almost playing against Iraq is always immediately as Al Duhail tournament contender send- coach Srecko Katanec said af- tough. I think we deserved striker Mohannad Ali out- ing a stunning effort past the ter the match. more from the match but it is muscled Tarek Salman who outstretched Al Sheeb. Qatar pushed for a goal be- football, sometimes it doesn’t managed to nick the ball out “We didn’t start on a good fore the end of the first half but work. I still believe we will be for a corner kick. note, Qatar had chances but it was Iraq who came off hap- better in the next match. But the hosts seeing a lot they didn’t score. We got the pier of the two team. “The game was in differ- of the ball continued to ask first one and we pushed and “We started well and ent phases and honestly we questions of the Iraqi defence soon got the second. After con- missed some chances. We kept trying. It was difficult and the busy Afif found Ab- Qatar’s Almoez Ali battles for the ball as coach Felix Sanchez looks on. ceding in the second half, I had couldn’t score the first one and to get a rhythm as the game delkarim Hassan down the to change something in the they did. It was a big punish- was stopped too frequently. left but the left back could The Asian champions were der. From a corner kick, the Saad al Sheeb in goal. team. Congratulations to the ment because we didn’t de- We made mistakes and it’s only smash his short against soon made to pay for missed ball found Mohammed Qasem Qatar’s task became more players who gave everything in serve going two down but the normal, but the main thing the outside of the post. Again chances as Iraq scored the and the midfielder’s seem- difficult in the 26th minute as difficult circumstances. Three team kept playing. We got is to make less mistakes and Karim Boudiaf saw his shot opener in the 16th minute ingly harmless cross flew past the 22-year-old Qasem dou- points is nice but we have to be nervous towards the end. be more effective in things we parried out to safety. thanks to a defensive blun- the defenders and the helpless bled his tally with a goal of the ready for the next match,” Iraq “The game was stopped can do,” the Spaniard added. FAN & FARE Ali scores a hat-trick for UAE Opening ceremony fireworks and fans (below) at the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday. The opening match of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup saw an at- tendance of 37,890. A fine hat-trick from Ali Mabkhout helped the United Arab Emirates get off to a flying start as they crushed Yemen 3-0 in the Arabian Gulf Cup in Doha on Tuesday. Mabhkout struck two goals in the first half of the Group A match in the 21st and 38th minutes. Then he completed the feat in the 54th minute with a fine kick. (AFP).