Young goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham yesterday produced a stellar performance under pressure to help hosts Qatar beat Egypt 5-4 in a sudden-death penalty shootout to seal the third place at the FIFA Arab Cup.
Barsham, who produced a series of smart saves during regulation and extra time, dived to his right to block the sixth penalty by Egypt’s Mohamed Sherif to seal Qatar’s win on their National Day at the Stadium 974.
For hosts Qatar, it was their second successive marathon clash in the 16-team tournament after the extra-time heartbreak 2-1 loss against Algeria in the semi-final on Wednesday.
Coached by Felix Sanchez, Qatar yesterday wrapped up an impressive campaign with a fighting win in a tournament that was played as a trial event in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
With FIFA President Gianni Infantino leading a host of dignitaries as viewing fans, Qatar yesterday players battled fatigue and a fighting Egyptian side coached by popular Portuguese Carlos Queiroz. Twenty-three-year-old Barsham, who replaced regular keeper Saad al-Sheeb, yesterday emerged as a hero by standing like a brick wall mostly in the second half of regulation time and then in the penalty shootout which started with Qatar’s captain Hassan Al Haydos whose spot kick landed in the stands.
Bualem Khoukhi, Abdul Karim Hassan, Ahmed Alaaeldin, Akram Afif and Karim Boudiaf scored after al-Haydos’s missed penalty to put Qatar in the driver’s seat. For Egypt, Ahmed Hegazy missed the third penalty that hit the goalpost to the right of Barsham but did not go into the net.
“Mabrooq to everybody. It was Qatar’s National Day and it was a very nice game to watch,” Sanchez said yesterday. “It was a difficult tournament but the players showed commitment. And they fought till the end. We deserved to win.
“We only lost one game in the competition from six matches. We really deserved to win today,” the Spaniard added.
“It was not an easy tournament for us. There were teams with great skills but our players presented strong levels,” he said. “Facing the Egyptian team was not easy at all. My team as a whole fought all the way to achieve victory. We know we have made our fans happy,” Sanchez said.
Man of the Match Barsham said yesterday: “To win this match is an indescribable feeling. This win has come with a lot of hard work.”
After a slow start, the two teams picked up pace early on in the first half. Egypt’s Mostafa Fathi and Qatar’s Abdulaziz Hatem managed to produce a couple of threatening moves but both failed to find the net.
Hatem, in the 26th minute sneaked into the Egyptian box but Mohamed Abdelmoneim managed a sliding tackle to block the move.
In the 33rd minute. Egypt keeper Mohamed Elshenawy suffered an injury while clearing a ball as did Qatar’s Asim Madibo who also required medical assistance five minutes later for an injury following a tackle by Fathi.
Three minutes before the end of the first half, Fathi produced a bullet from the edge of the box but Qatar’s Homam Ahmed blocked the shot with a slick move. A minute into the second half, Qatar striker Almoez Ali probably missed the easiest of chances when he could not connect with a high tap into the net from close range.
Fathi, six minutes later, produced a long-range bullet that was saved with a dive to his right by keeper Barsham. Egypt’s Ahmed Fatouh attacked Barsham in the 63rd minute but Qatar’s young keeper managed another dive to kill the move. Barsham and Sherif were involved in a battle to tackle a loopy cross from the deep but the Qatari managed to show better pace to collect the ball in the 70th minute.
With Egypt showing greater attack mode late in the second half and in injury time,
Barsham exhibited amazing alacrity to thwart every move by the African giants. When Argentine referee Facundo Tello blew the final whistle after 120 minutes of draining football, Barsham was one man standing between Egypt and third place.
Barsham said yesterday: “It is true that I did not participate in the previous matches in the tournament, but I was always ready to present my best. I did the training with all my focus. We train as a group and when there’s an opportunity to participate, you go for it.”
Qatar’s goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham (centre) punches the ball ahead of Egypt’s defender Mahmoud Hamdy.
