Akram Afif (two goals) and Almoez Ali, two heroes of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 campaign, found the net with goals in either half to start their title defence on a high in a packed stadium of 82,490 people.
The opening institution of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 presented no surprises as host Qatar brushed away Lebanon to win the nature 3- 0 and top Group A, at the Lusail Stadium, on Friday.
Akram Afif (two pretensions) and Almoez Ali, two icons of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 crusade, set up the net with pretensions in either half to start their title defence on a high in a packed colosseum of 82,490 people.
Lebanon started the match on a protective note, having five men at the reverse to contain the long balls. still, Qatar dragged the callers out of their comfort zone to allow Almoez to make deceptive runs up the pitch.
The hosts nearly scored with that strategy, with Almoez entering the through ball along the left and shooting it past Mostafa Matar in the fifth nanosecond. But, with the semi-automatic offside technology (SAOT) making its debut in this event, VAR ruled it out as offside using the same.
The advance eventually arrived for Qatar in the last moments of the first half when Yusuf Abdurisag’s title in the penalty box was landed by Almoez and struck hard on half- blitz by Akram.
Qatar looked like a better- waxed machine in the alternate half, with further control in set- pieces and soon got its price, 11 twinkles later renew. Mohammed Waad’s right- footed cross from the left set up Almoez’s free title as the ball dredged into the net, causing a meltdown among suckers at the colosseum.
Almoez was Qatar’s idol in the last edition of the event, scoring the most pretensions, and his strike in the nature made him do a little cotillion in front of his own suckers, with fritters on his lips latterly on, squelching his critics.
Akram put the game to bed with his second of the night in the alternate half injury time, making a single run from midfield into the final third, beating his marker Nour Mansour and also slotting it past Matar.
Lebanon had its moments however, with captain Hassan Maatouk coming near to scoring in the 21st nanosecond against the run of play. But Meshaal Barsham’s five saves of the night assured the platoon went home with a palm and a clean distance.
Qatar plays debutant Tajikistan next while Lebanon will look to change its fortunes against China, with both matches listed on January 17. Know More Latest Football News…
