Sultan al-Breik gave Qatar the lead in the 37th minute with a sublime free kick, before Mohamed Muhtadi gave the Syrian dugout a sigh of relief by scoring through a header in the 61st minute.
Around 300 Syrians who cheered for their side at the Al Sadd were also delirious in the end as Syria too qualified for the main event as one of the five best runners-up across all groups. A loss would have been disaster for Syria but they managed to hung in right till the end.
While Qatar were clearly a superior side, the physical nature of the game played by Syrians left the hosts exhausted. The game was interrupted many a time with Syrian players lunging at the Qataris and couple of them had to be substituted after picking injuries. The first casualty was Qatar captain Ahmed Moein, who had to be stretchered off the field in the 20th minute with a shoulder injury.
Qatar had more possession and threatened the Syrian defence on a number of occasions. They had their first real chance in the 28th minute, but Akram Afif’s shot sailed well above the post.
The breakthrough for Qatar came in the 37th minute after Almoez Ali was brought down just outside the box. Qatar had been poor in set-pieces so far in the tournament, but Sultan al-Breik produced an immaculate free kick to the right of the top post, with Syrian goalkeeper Mohamed Yazan Ourabi’s outstretched hands failing to even come close to the ball.
Syria responded with some quick counter-attack, but Qatar defender Tarek Salman, who was outstanding on the night, cleared the danger on two occasions in the 42nd minute.
In the very next minute, Syria had a chance to equalise. Substitute Mohamed Srour played a perfect through ball to Al Rahman Barakat, who only had to beat the goalkeeper. But the midfielder while attempting to control the ball handled the ball, which was spotted by the linesman.
After the break, Syria started to press more in search of an equaliser and their wait to came to an end in the 61st minute. Moumen Naji wreaked havoc on the left, catching the Qatari defenders unawares. And one such moment came when Naji lobbed into the box, where Mohamed Muhtadi leapt between Qatar defenders Salman and Tameem al-Muhaza to head the ball into the net.
The Syrians, knowing well that a draw would be enough to confirm their ticket to China, were overjoyed as they joined their supporters in celebration. Understandably, both the teams tightened their defence thereafter and were happy to play out a draw.
Syria, however, still had a chance to snatch the game from Qatar. In the 79th minute, Barakat made a delightful pass to Najii, but the forward failed to react quickly as the ball went out of play.
Qatar coach Felix Sanchez was pleased with his team’s qualification. “I am very happy for my team. They worked hard during the tournament. Tonight we were good in the first half, but they came back strongly in the second. I want to congratulate the Syrian team too for their qualification,” he said.
The Spanish coach said the next year’s AFC Championship will be a golden opportunity for the Qatar under-23 players to learn and graduate to the next well. “My players are fortunate to play in these kinds of tournaments. It will only make them better players. Most of them are born after 1995, so they are still young and they have a lot to learn by playing at this level,” Sanchez said.
