Qatar edged Yemen on goal difference to emerge Group E winners of the Asian U-16 Championship Qualifiers yesterday at the Aspire Dome indoor pitch.
The hosts beat Bhutan 11-0 to finish tied with Yemen on seven points but a goal difference of one placed Qatar above their West Asian rivals who beat Bangladesh 3-0 earlier yesterday.
Qatar flexed their muscles in the second half to seal an emphatic win over Bhutan. The West Asians’ opened their scoring in the eighth minute through Rashid Abdulaziz al-Abdulla, before Mubark Shanan Hamza and Mohamed Salem al-Quraishi converted spot-kicks in the 36th and 44th minutes respectively.
Qatar continued their chase for goals in the second half with Abdulaziz Fahad al-Naimi and captain Mhadi Salem al-Mejaba finding the back of the net in the 49th and 53rd minutes respectively. Al-Quraishi scored his second four minutes later, while al-Abdulla completed his hat-trick with back-to-back goals in the 65th and 68th minutes.
Defender Hassan Mohamed al-Ghareeb got into the goalscoring action five minutes later, before Mobark scored from the penalty spot in the 88th minute. But it was substitute Abdulrahman al-Dosari’s goal three minutes into added time that meant the most, as 1990 champions Qatar sealed their 11th appearance in the Finals.
Earlier, Yemen went into the match knowing they needed to claim all three points to boost their Finals’ hopes but Bangladesh - having defeated Bhutan on Friday - were up for the tie. With both sides seeking victory, the first half ended in a slug fest with neither able to find a way through to goal. Yemen, however, upped their game in the second half and 64 minutes in, Mohammed Ali Hasan broke the deadlock. The lead was doubled nine minutes later by Hamzah Ahmed Mahross who added his second of the night in the 78th minute.
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