Qatar, UAE Stun South Korea, Australia to Reach Semifinals

Date: 26 January 2019 - 20:58

News ID: ۶۲۴۸۱

Dubai (Dispatches) - It was a day of huge shocks in the 2019 Asian Cup, as two soccer minnows reached the semifinal stage and one of them will be in the final on Feb. 1.
In Qatar’s case, it was the first time they’ve reached the final four of this tournament in their history. Qatar is currently 93rd in FIFA’s world rankings.
Qatar and hosts UAE edged by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) giants South Korea and Australia respectively, as a single goal in the second half of each game did the damage.
Due to their injury issues, Tottenham Hotspur will be very happy that South Korean captain Heung-Min Son is heading home as he could now be available for their Premier League clash with Watford on Wednesday. While hosts UAE stunned reigning champs Australia in front of a jubilant home crowd in Abu Dhabi.
The hosts for the 2022 World Cup reached their first-ever Asian Cup semifinal in stunning fashion, as they knocked out red-hot favorites South Korea. Captained by Heung-min Son, the Koreans had the majority of the play but couldn’t break through. Then Abdulaziz Hatem struck a wonderful effort from distance which sent Qatar into the final four. South Korea did score a few moments after Hatem’s opener, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
The local hero Ali Mabkhout scored the winner with 22 minutes to go, and Australia had no answer. The reigning champs are out. Al-Jazira striker Mabkhout took his tally at the tournament to four goals as he latched onto a poor back pass from Degenek, rounded Mat Ryan and scored. Another PL club will benefit from Australia’s unexpected early exit, as Brighton will get starting goalkeeper Ryan back. Take a look below at the moment the UAE made it through to their second-straight Asian Cup semifinal, as Mabkhout played the hero in his hometown.
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will meet in a politically-charged semifinal at the Asian Cup after they knocked out the two favorites Friday.
Since June 2017, the UAE has been part of a quartet of nations leading an economic and diplomatic boycott of Qatar. The standoff has impacted Qatar's logistics at the Asian Cup in the UAE but not its performances on the field.
Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host nation, reached the last four of Asia's continental showpiece for the first time by beating two-time champion South Korea 1-0. The UAE defeated title-holder Australia by the same score to set up a meeting with Qatar in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
**** United Arab Emirates' forward Ali Mabkhout, celebrates his goal, the opening goal, during the AFC Asian Cup quarterfinal soccer match between United Arab Emirates and Australia at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Jan 25, 2019. (