Qatar's Yazan Mohamed (left) celebrates with teammate Adam Friakh after scoring a goal against South Africa.
DOHA: Hosts Qatar kept their hopes of reaching the FIFA U-17 World Cup knockout stage alive with an absorbing 1-1 draw against South Africa at Aspire Zone’s Competition Complex yesterday.
Italy, Portugal and Argentina secured their spots in the Round of 32 after winning their respective group matches, as eight more games concluded in the group stage.
Belgium also delivered an outstanding performance, crushing Fiji 7-0.
After losing their Group A opener against Italy, Qatar started brightly as Yazan Mohamed fired into the bottom corner in the third minute, delighting the home fans at Mansour Muftah Pitch.
However, South Africa, winners over Bolivia in their first match, responded through Emile Witbooi, who headed in the equaliser in the 16th minute. The match remained a tightly contested affair, with both sides ultimately sharing the spoils.
Placed third in the group with one point, Qatar must now defeat Bolivia by a convincing margin on Sunday and hope the Italy-South Africa result goes in their favour.
The draw took Italy to the knockout stage, as they earlier in the day thumped Bolivia 4-0 at Bader Bilal Pitch for their second consecutive victory.
Simone Lontani (34’) and Samuele Inacio (37’) struck in the first half, followed by Destiny Elimoghale’s 54th minute goal to make it 3-0 for Italy. Fabio Pandolfi (90+8’) completed the victory after Inacio and Bolivia’s Jesus Maraude missed penalties.
“I cannot describe how it feels to score. I am just so glad to be here with my team-mates. I am the youngest one and they make me feel good in the team. That gives me a lot of confidence,” said Elimoghale.
Portugal hit Morocco for six to advance in style
Portugal became the first side from Group B to advance after trouncing Morocco 6-0 for their second straight win at Mahmoud Soufi Pitch.
Joao Aragao opened the scoring in the 20th minute, and Anisio Cabral doubled the advantage two minutes later. Mateus Mide added a third in the 29th minute and converted a penalty in the 44th minute for his brace.
Jose Neto then scored twice in the second half, netting in the 46th and 60th minutes to seal a commanding victory.
“This was a different game, against a good team. We started strong, created a little anxiety in their team because they knew that losing could cost their qualification, and we played with that,” said Portugal coach Bino Macaes.
In the other Group B match at Mohammed Ghanim Pitch, Japan and New Caledonia shared points after a goalless draw. Japan moved to four points, while New Caledonia earned their first point.
Jainikoski inspires Argentina; Mitongo scores four goals
Facundo Jainikoski came off the bench to score the winner in the 67th minute as Argentina edged Tunisia 1-0 to secure their knockout stage berth from Group D.
Jainikoski nearly doubled the lead but was denied by the crossbar at Khaled Ballan Pitch.
Argentina's Thomas De Martis (right) and Tunisia's Ali Jaber battle for the ball.
“We’re happy because sometimes it’s not easy, and even less so to qualify in the second match. And we’re happy because we’ve beaten the two toughest opponents,” said Argentina coach Diego Placente.
At Ibrahim Khalfan Pitch, forward Rene Mitongo fired four goals – two in each half – to help Belgium crush Fiji.
After Noah Fernandez and Pablo Capilla Rivera struck early, Mitongo opened his account in the 22nd minute.
Loic Alvarez added Belgium’s fourth in the 29th minute before Mitongo scored again in the 34th, 77th and 86th minutes to complete the rout.
Both sides were reduced to ten men, with Belgium’s August de Wannemacker (58’) and Fiji’s Teimana Goundar (69’) receiving red cards.
“We worked really hard for this match. Scoring seven goals isn’t easy. We took the game very seriously — the coach told us to. I feel good and I’m happy to have scored four goals, but it’s not over,” said Mitongo.
Croatia blank UAE; Senegal edge Costa Rica
In Group C, dominant Croatia defeated UAE 3-0 at Khaled Salman Pitch to take their tally to four points and boost their chances of advancing. Tino Kusanovic opened the scoring at the half-hour mark, with Gabrijel Sivalec doubling the lead six minutes later. Kresimir Rados sealed the convincing win with a late goal.
Senegal also moved to four points in the group after edging Costa Rica 1-0, thanks to Alwaly Camara’s eighth-minute strike.
“The main thing is that we won. In the first match, we had chances but didn’t take them. Today, we won thanks to the players, the staff, and the management. This victory is for the people,” said Camara.
