The Asian Cup…a scenario for a third Arab final or a return to the 1972 version?
The eyes of football fans seem keen to watch an unprecedented semi-final in the Asian Cup next Tuesday and Wednesday in the Qatari capital, Doha, when Jordan clashes with the South Korean team, while Qatar faces the fierce Iranian team, which showed great strength in the group stage competitions, as well as in the six-stage competitions. Ten and eight.
The Arab teams Jordan and Qatar may succeed in drawing a third scenario for an Arab final that took place twice in 1996 between Saudi Arabia and the Emirates and 2007 between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where the Greens won once and the Mesopotamian Lions won once.
While the Iranian and South Korean teams seek to bring back memories of the 1972 Asian Cup when they face each other again when Iran won that edition.
This is how Qatar players celebrated their distinguished goalkeeper Barshim (AFP)
Jordanian coach Amouta believes that his team is full of confidence now, but he deals with each match individually, and must enter every confrontation with a chance of winning.
He said: “In one match our percentage is 60 percent and in another 20 percent, but it is important that we have the percentage to achieve victory. We will see in the next match whether we will be able to pass or whether the Asian adventure will stop.
Matches are not the same. Effort and focus decide the matches, and you must be present at the time and place, and then we will see what results from our efforts.”
Amouta’s role does not stop at training and developing plans, but rather extends to preparing the players psychologically, as Jordanian defender Yazan Al-Arab said.
The South Korean national team is on pace to win a third title (A.B.)
Yazan told a press conference: “Amuta plays a major role in preparing the players psychologically, and he is the one who helped us focus on the Tajikistan match after the Iraq match.
Now we are in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup and the ambition increases in every match and we do not want to stop, and we will also be counting on the fans in the semi-finals. “We will forget the Tajikistan match for the sake of the next confrontation to achieve the dream of reaching the final.”
Perhaps he was the late Egyptian coach Mahmoud Al-Gohary, who laid out the plan to advance Jordanian football from 2002 until his death in 2012, and it is enough that local journalists still remember him.
But what Amouta did with Jordan will put him in the same position, and if he achieves the dream of reaching the final and winning the title, he will certainly surpass his Egyptian counterpart. Regarding Qatar, Qatari goalkeeper Mishal Barshim said that he expected Jalaluddin Masharieb to take the final penalty kick in the middle of the goal, saving it and leading his country to the semi-finals of the Asian Football Cup.
Iran succeeded in eliminating the most prominent candidates for the Asian title (AP)
Barshim told a press conference: “I previously faced (Masharipov) against Uzbekistan and Al-Nasr Saudi Arabia, and I expected him to shoot his kick in the middle of the goal, and thank God I saved it.”
The Qatari Al-Sadd goalkeeper thanked all Qatar fans and all his teammates after qualifying to face Iran in the semi-finals next Wednesday.
Barshim said after the victory: “I thank the fans and dedicate the victory to them.” The whole team did not fail on the field… This victory is an indescribable feeling and we are all celebrating, praise be to God, and I thank all the players for achieving the second time in the semi-finals, and this achievement is not easy.
Barshim’s brilliance was not limited to penalty kicks. During the course of the match, he succeeded in saving more than one dangerous opportunity, and was one of the reasons for his country reaching the end of normal time and then extra time in a draw. Barshim received great praise from his colleagues and considered him the first to be credited, despite the Qatar goalkeeper’s assertion that the victory was achieved through a collective effort and not because of his brilliance.
Qatar defender Tariq Salman said: “I say to Barshim Bayd, may God bless your face and you did not fall short, and he saved three kicks… All the players did not fall short… Some were saying that Uzbekistan knotted us, and thank God we broke the knot.”
He added about the semi-final match scheduled for next Wednesday: “A difficult match awaits us against Iran, and we must be ready, and we will begin our preparations from now.”
Qatar coach Marques Lopez praised his players after qualifying for the semi-finals of the Asian Football Cup after defeating Uzbekistan 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Mishal Barshim performed admirably, denying three penalty kicks from Rustomjon Ashurmatov, Zafamurad Abdurakhmatov, and captain Jalaluddin Masharipov, while Almoez Ali and Mahdi Ali missed two penalty kicks for Qatar before Pedro Miguel sealed the qualification with the fifth kick.
Lopez told a press conference: “The players made a great effort in a difficult match that ended in a penalty shootout, and all I hope is that we will witness the same enthusiasm in the next match, as well as the public attendance.
The team became nervous after our goal, and our level declined, but we succeeded in dealing with the matter and rising in the end.”
Lopez said: “We have a big match ahead of us, but first we will recover after the effort we made today in a match that extended into overtime. “We will enjoy the win tonight and then start preparing (for the Iran match).”
The Spanish coach took over as coach of Qatar temporarily last December after the departure of Portuguese Carlos Queiroz.
Lopez said about his short time with the national team: “Reaching the semi-finals is an achievement (given the timing of his taking over), but we still have two matches in which we must give everything we have and focus in order to win the title.” Mishal Barshim proved that for a team to compete for titles, it needs a distinguished goalkeeper who intervenes at the right time to save his team, after he shone and led Qatar to the semi-finals of the Asian Football Cup at the expense of Uzbekistan on Saturday evening.
Barshim dived to the left to save a kick from Rustamgon Ashurmatov, then entered into a skirmish with Zavamurad Abdurahmatov, who stood two steps away from the ball to save his kick from the 25-year-old Qatari goalkeeper.
But the most notable shot was when Barshim saved the final penalty kick for Uzbekistan from captain Jalaluddin Masharipov, while keeping his eyes on his Uzbek rival, making up for the miss of two kicks by his teammates Almoez Ali and Mahdi Ali.
Barshim’s brilliance was not limited to penalty kicks. During the course of the match, he succeeded in saving more than one dangerous opportunity, and was one of the reasons for his country reaching the end of normal time and then extra time in a draw.
Qatar also owes credit to Mohamed Waad, who saved his team from an equalizer in the first half.
Abousbek Fayzuliev ran from the left side without supervision and sent a low pass to Azizbek Turgunbayev, who put it towards the goal, waiting for it to hit the net to begin his celebration, but Waad slid in to send the ball away to a corner.
Qatar may be suffering in terms of attack, as it scored eight goals, all from just three players: Al-Moez, Akram Afif, and captain Hassan Al-Haydos.
But the defensive organization of coach Marques Lopez seems to be going well under the leadership of Lucas Mendes, who gave a wonderful performance against Uzbekistan and saved his team from a one-on-one opportunity that could have dashed their hopes.
Through a pass from behind, Mendes entered into a speed race with Shohboz Umarov, but the Qatar defender intervened at the right time to snatch the ball before the Uzbekistan player went one-on-one with goalkeeper Barshim in extra time.
Qatar will need to be at its best when it faces Iran, which has brought back striker Mehdi Taremi after missing the win over Japan due to suspension.
Qatar does not have a good record against Iran, as it has lost 14 times in 21 confrontations between them, but with the presence of the Qatari fans, anything can happen.
2024-02-05 16:13:31
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