Qatar defeat Oman 2-1, advance to FIFA Arab Cup quarter-finals

Hosts Qatar have advanced to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 after a 2-1 win over Oman in a Group A match played at the Education City Stadium in the capital Doha.

The first goal of Friday’s match was scored by Qatari striker Akram Afif in the 32nd minute. The Asian football champions edged past Oman after a goal in the 97th minute. Oman’s single goal came in the 74th minute.

“After this result, we are the first in the group, which is amazing for us but we have one more game. We have to play well to make people proud of the team. It is very nice to see the fans happy today,” Felix Sanchez, Qatar coach, said.

In another match on Friday, the Iraqi team tied with Bahrain 0-0 at Al Thumama Stadium in the second round of the first group matches.

With this tie, the Iraqi team raised its score to two points, while the Bahraini team managed to win its first point.

Iraq will face Qatar, while Bahrain will take on Oman in their third group level matches on Monday.

The tournament, hosted by Qatar from November 30 to December 18, involves 16 teams under the FIFA umbrella.

In the opening match, Qatar beat Bahrain on Tuesday while in other matches on the first day of the competition the United Arab Emirates (UAE) defeated Syria 2-1, Tunisia beat Mauritania 5-1, and Iraq and Oman battled to a 1-1 draw.

Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain are in Group A, while Group B includes Tunisia, UAE, Syria, Mauritania. Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Palestine are in Group C while Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan play in Group D.

Saturday will see Group C’s Palestine-Saudi Arabia and Morocco-Jordan matches. Also on Saturday, Group D’s Algeria will face Lebanon while Egypt will take on Sudan.

Iraq, the most successful team in the history of the competition, have four titles, followed by Saudi Arabia with two. Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have won the tournament once.