In the early morning of February 4, Beijing time, the Qatar Asian Cup ushered in the last quarterfinals, and the host, which is also the defending champion, Qatar, faced Uzbekistan.
In terms of the latest world rankings, Qatar is ranked 59th, while Uzbekistan is ranked 69th. As the host, Qatar was placed in the relatively weak Group A, winning all three games in the group stage without conceding a goal, and easily qualified. In the quarterfinals, Qatar defeated Palestine 2-1.
In contrast, Uzbekistan failed to win the group with only one win and two draws in the group stage, but defeated Thailand in the quarter-finals and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.
At the beginning of the game, Qatar, playing at home, dominated possession. In the 10th minute, Afif couldn't get the ball in the box right, but his next shot was full of power, but unfortunately the direction was too frontal.
For the next 15 minutes, the pace of the game was unusually slow, making people a little drowsy. Until the 27th minute, a bizarre goal made the whole stadium boil. Haydos burst into the box in front of the Uzbek goalkeeper, and his shot from a tight angle did not look like a pass or a shot, and the ball could have been rounded into a cross, but it was saved by Uzbek goalkeeper Yusupov.
The change in the score forced Uzbekistan to take the initiative to strengthen the attack, and it was not until the 36th minute that Uzbekistan completed their first shot on goal. Masharipov latched on to a team-mate's cross and fired home to equalise the scores.
At the end of the first half, Uzbekistan finally showed the level they should have, but could not find the back of the net again. At half-time, both teams had a 3-4 shot on goal and were temporarily 1-0 up, despite having fewer shots on goal.
Just one minute into the second half, the situation of the game changed dramatically. Fezuraev was tackled by Basham during the breakaway and was shown a yellow card by the referee. After this yellow card, Uzbekistan's offensive momentum gradually increased. In the 56th minute, Shukurov's long-range shot almost broke the goal, and Uzbekistan was one step closer to scoring.
In the 20th minute, through a series of combinations, Hamrobekov scored a powerful shot to equalize the score. The situation changed dramatically in the second half, when Qatar suddenly lost their attacking ability, and in 30 minutes, Uzbekistan completed seven shots on goal, forming a wave of fierce attacks, while Qatar actually failed to complete a single shot.
It wasn't until the 10th minute of stoppage time that Qatar had their first shot on goal of the second half, with Afif's header almost stunning. In the fifth minute of extra time, Salman's shot deflected off the ball and hit the crossbar.
In the following 10 minutes, the fitness of the players of both teams dropped sharply, their movements slowed down significantly, and the game situation appeared chaotic. In the 116th minute, Ali played a one-two with the Uzbek player, and the final shot hit the side-netting.
At the end of 120 minutes, the two teams went to a penalty shootout. Both teams won the first round of the penalty shoot-out, and in the second round, both teams were saved. In the third round, Qatar's centre-backs opted for anti-aircraft guns, while in the fourth round, Uzbekistan's penalty was saved again. After four rounds, the aggregate score of the two teams is 3-3.
Uzbekistan's fifth penalty was scored by Masharipov, however, his shot was saved again. In the end, through a penalty shootout, Qatar defeated Uzbekistan 4-3 and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.
Overall, the game was a suspenseful affair, with the first and second halves quickly turning around, and the fatigue of both players in extra time was evident in the game. Although Qatar eventually won on penalties, the entire match showed a solid confrontation between the two teams.
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