2019 Asian Cup: Qatar beats UAE 4-0 and qualifies for tournament final

Qatar's national team qualified for the Asian Cup final with a 4-0 win over United Arab Emirates, host of the tournament, in their first match since the separation of the two countries in 2017.

The Qataris entered the game under considerable pressure, in the absence of their own, because of the boycott imposed on their state by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United States. Egypt, accused since June 2017 of supporting terrorism.

But Qatar, nicknamed "Annabi", took up the challenge and managed to beat the hosts to four unanswerable goals.

Boualem Khoukhi opened the scoring with a long shot from the right, and Al Moez Ali added the second goal, his eighth in the round, before the end of the first half. In the final minutes of the second half, Hassan Al Haidoos deepened the UAE team's injury for a third goal, before the knockout came from Hamed Ismail with a fourth goal.

This is the first time Qatar has qualified for the Asian Cup final, while the Emirati dream has not reached the tournament final for the second time in their history.

The atmosphere in the stadium was accused by the Qataris, who played the national anthem.

However, in the 22nd minute, silence prevailed when Jukhay escaped from the right side and kicked hard from the edge of the area. UAE goalkeeper Khalid Issa was stunned by his whole body but did not prevent the ball from entering his goal.

After about 15 minutes, as the audience waited for the reaction of the UAE players, Al-Moez Ali doubled the score with a curly left-hand shot that stalled in the corner against the defenders who watched the ball slide in their goal.

While Ali was celebrating the target with his colleagues, members of the UAE public were throwing shoes at him.

Observers are waiting for the FTA to impose sanctions on the UAE for this behavior.

The United Arab Emirates did not offer much in front of their supporters: all the attempts of their players were neutralized by an organized Qatari defense, especially since the Emirati attempts consisted mainly of high passes, the defenders playing with head and quickly pulling the ball out of their area.

The most dangerous opportunity for the UAE team in the 52nd minute when Ali Mebkhout fired a strong free kick from Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Shaib. In the 69th minute, Ismail Matar, substitute, lost the opportunity to score when he was shooting hard but the Qatari goalkeeper was on his guard again.

Qatari control continued to play in the second half. Members of the UAE public launched bottles and shoes at Qatari Heidos while celebrating the third goal.

In stoppage time, the referee resorted to the video game technique of the referee before removing the red card against UAE defender Ismael Ahmed, who participated in the play matches then that he was hitting the Qatari Salem Al Hajri with his elbow.

Qatar faces Japan, which beat Iran in the semifinal in the final.