Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Changzhou: Almoez Ali’s second half strike proved the difference as Qatar recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Uzbekistan in their AFC U23 Championship 2018 opener at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center on Tuesday.
The Al Duhail forward’s goal leaves Qatar second in Group A behind table-topping China PR who beat Oman 3-0 in the day’s earlier game.
In a closely fought first half, it was Uzbekistan who dominated the early proceedings, Zabikhillo Urinboev firing inches over following a neat interchange of passes with Dostonbek Khamdamov on the edge of the area after 14 minutes.
Qatar responded well however, with dynamic captain Ahmad Moein, a member of the squad when his country finished fourth at the tournament’s last edition in 2016, fizzing a shot narrowly wide shortly after the half hour mark.
With Qatar clearly growing in confidence, midfielder Salem Al Hajri then rattled the Uzbekistan bar courtesy of a rasping drive from distance as the opening period came to an entertaining close.
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