Abdelaziz Hatim yesterday scored the winner as reigning Asian champions Qatar consolidated their top spot in Group E of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, after defeating India 1-0 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Following the win, Al Annabi went seven points clear of second-placed Oman with 19 points. Qatar will play Oman on Monday and only a draw will ensure them the top place in the group.
Qatar dominated the match, played in front of spectators, right after the kick off and played aggressive football against the ‘Blues’.
Head coach Felix Sanchez was happy with the win as team edged closer to finish on top in the group.
“We are close to our goal of winning the group,” Sanchez said yesterday.
“India are a good side and they defended well. It was a tough match. The most important thing is that we got the three points and that all the players played well.”
Abdelkarim Hassan gave India scare in the first minute, with his effort going just wide from outside the box. Hassan then had another chance at goal in the fourth minute but his effort off Karim Boudiaf’s corner was saved by India custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Despite defending deep, Igor Stimac’s side continued to show determination on counter-attacks with Glan Martins pulling the strings in midfield alongside Bipin Singh Thounaojam and Suresh Singh Wangjam.
Qatar came close to scoring in the 15th minute after Yusuf Abdurisag did well on the right to cut back in and relay the ball to Hatim, who however hit his volley over the bar.
India suffered a blow in the 18th minute when defender Rahul Bheke received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for handling the ball outside the box.
Despite being a man down, India continued to deny Qatar with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu foiling the West Asians’ attempts at goal.
However, Qatar scored the opening goal in the 33rd minute after Mohammed Muntari found space down the left before slipping the ball to Hatim who converted off a rebound from his first attempt as Sanchez’s side took a 1-0 lead going into the break. In a tactical move, Stimac replaced Sunil Chhetri with Udanta Singh as India started the second half with hope that they could salvage a point against the reigning AFC Asian Cup titleholders.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who kept a clean sheet against Qatar in their previous encounter, continued to frustrate Qatar when he kept out Abdelkarim Hassan from close-range in the 47th minute and later Muntari’s effort from inside the box.
India’s assistant manager Shanmugam Venkatesh said India gained a valuable experience against Qatar.
“We played well in defense against a good side. The team must show improvement in the coming matches,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Afghanistan shared the spoils with Bangladesh in a 1-1 draw in the other Group E tie in Doha.
