Qatar show resilience to advance

DOHA: Qatar were made to work hard to keep their title defence on track, needing penalties to defeat Uzbekistan in their AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 quarter-final on Saturday. The defending champions found themselves pegged by an exciting Uzbekistan but did just enough to win the shoot-out 3-2. The-AFC.com takes a look at some interesting facts and figures from the last eight tie.

On a roll
Qatar have now qualified for the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup in successive campaigns after having failed to do so in any of their first nine participations in the tournament.

A first
This was Qatar’s first ever AFC Asian Cup penalty shoot-out while it was was Uzbekistan’s third – with all three ending in defeats (3-4 v Bahrain in 2004; 2-4 against Australia in 2019).

Tough tacklers
Qatar attempted 39 tackles against Uzbekistan, their highest in any single AFC Asian Cup game since the start of the 2007 edition; the 26 tackles they won is also their joint second-highest in any game in this period.

Focused
Almahdi Ali recorded 118 touches against Uzbekistan, the highest by a Qatar player in a single game of the AFC Asian Cup since 2007; in fact, his 100 attempted passes is also the highest by a Qatar player in the same period.

Always ready
Jaloliddin Masharipov contested 45 duels against Qatar, the most by any player in a single game at Qatar 2023; in fact, his teammate Abbosbek Fayzullayev’s 37 duels comes in second on the list at this edition of the tournament.