Qatar took top spot after two late goals steered them to a 2-1 win against Bahrain in their AFC U-23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Group H tie at the at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha yesterday.
Qatar finished with seven points with India one behind after ending their campaign with a 6-0 win against Brunei Darussalam.
Two wins from two made Qatar as firm favourites to finish top but Bahrain proved to be a handful as neither side was able to break the deadlock heading into the break. The stalemate was finally broken after Abdulrahman Sami al-Khayyat found the back of the net for Bahrain in the 71st minute.
Staring at possible elimination, Qatar upped their tempo and
drew level through Al Hashmi al-Hussain in the first minute of added time at the end of the second half.
The drama, however, did not end there as Qatar were then reduced to 10 men in the fifth minute of added time following Ayoub Mohamed al-Ouwi’s sending off.
Incredibly, the numerical disadvantage seemed to push Qatar as Jassem al-Sharshani scored the winner from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of added time.
Meanwhile, Vibin Mohanan opened India’s account in the fifth minute, converting Muhammed Suhail’s cutback before doubling his tally three minutes later after Brunei keeper Khairul Hisyam misjudged the bounce of the ball.
It was one way traffic and India scored their third in the 42nd minute after Ayush Chhetri exchanged neat passes with Sreekuttan Manikuttan before drilling the ball home.
Brunei fell further behind in the second half with Mohanan completing his hat-trick in the 62nd minute with an inch perfect free-kick. Mohammed Aimen added their fifth in the 87th minute.
Aimen hit India’s six in second half stoppage time with an effort from distance to complete the victory but despite that they were eliminated from qualification.
The Blue Colts finished with six points from their three matches, and had to wait a nerve-wracking end to the remaining Group H match between Qatar and Bahrain.
Qatar finished top of the group with a perfect record (nine points from three matches), while India ended up second with six points. While the four best second-placed teams (from 11 groups) also qualified, India finished the campaign at number five amongst the group runner-ups.