Mutasim Abdullah (Dubai)
Our Olympic team scored the “first point”, with a goalless draw against its host China, today, “Wednesday”, at Dalian Suiyuan Stadium, in the first round of Group G, in the qualifiers for the AFC U-23 Championship 2024, at the time when the match was canceled. India and the Maldives are in the same group, after the latter withdrew.
China and India will meet in the second round next Saturday at Dalian Suiyuan Stadium, with the “Olympic White” facing India in its second match next Monday.
The qualifying journey witnesses the participation of 41 teams in order to qualify for the finals and join Qatar, the host country for the tournament next year. The teams were divided into 11 groups, “8 groups of 4 teams” and “3 groups of 3 teams.” One round turn.
The first-placed team in each group qualifies for the finals, along with the 4 best second-placed teams in the 11 groups, to join Qatar, which qualified automatically, because it represents the host country, in the finals of the sixth edition of the continental championship, whose competitions are scheduled to be held from April 15 to May 3, 2024.
The Spaniard, Denis da Silva, pushed the “Olympic White” coach with a squad that included Rakan Al Menhali in the goalkeeper, Muhammad Abdul Rahman, Maid Al Tunaiji, Muhammad Abbas, Abdullah Al Balushi, Zayed Sultan, Ahmed Al Hammadi, Abdulaziz Al Balushi, Hareb Abdullah, Issa Khalfan, Sultan Adel.
The starting advantage came in favor of our Olympic team, which tried to put pressure on the Chinese defense front, in light of the effectiveness of the players presented by Issa Khalfan, Hareb Abdullah, and Sultan Adel, and the first opportunity appeared from Sultan Adel’s shot from outside the area, which passed over the goal in the 11th minute.
On the other hand, the owners of the land waited until the 23rd minute, to pose the first threat to our team’s goal, from a counterattack that Rakan Al-Menhali tackled, before leaving as a substitute for the injury, and the participation of the “substitute” goalkeeper Hamad Al-Muqbali.
The missed opportunities for the “Olympic White” continued, with the start of the second half, after Muhammad Abbas sent a powerful ball from a shot into the logic, which hit China’s goal in the 54th minute. In it, the result of a tie without change, so that each team will be satisfied with harvesting a “point” in the first round.
2023-09-06 14:39:55
#Olympic #White #scores #point #start #Asian #Cup #qualifiers #Alittihad #Newspaper
