Al Thumama Stadium, Qatar – Qatar's dream of winning a second consecutive Asian title, and doing so in front of its home crowd, reached its final destination after the hosts overcame Asian giants Iran in the second semi-final of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Qatar recovered from conceding a goal in the fourth minute to finish the match 3-2 ahead in a close match of start-to-finish action and high drama at Doha's Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday.
It was the end of the road for Iran's golden generation of footballers, who had brushed aside tournament favorites Japan in the quarter-finals and beaten a spirited Syrian team on penalties in their first knockout match.
Their fans, thousands of whom had attended every Iran match and supported their team throughout the action with relentless chanting and applause, wondered how much longer they would have to wait for a fourth Asian title.
the worst nightmare
Qatar came into the match off the back of their first real test of the tournament, when Uzbekistan took them to a penalty shoot-out, and the prospect of facing the continent's second-best team, Iran, was a cause for concern for their country. fans before the start.
The hosts' new coach, Márquez López, also called the semi-final “his team's toughest test so far” after remaining undefeated in the tournament so far.
Their worst nightmare became reality when out-of-form Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun scored the back of the net with a overhead kick in the opening minutes.
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁. 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆🏆@qatarairlines #GoToPlacesTogether#QatarAirlines | #AsianCup2023 | #HayyaAsia pic.twitter.com/Q4tY2rZHDs
– #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) February 7, 2024
The good start boosted Iran's confidence and pushed Qatar to look for an equalizer. As a result, the match swung from one end of the pitch to the other, with Qatar finally equalizing in the 17th minute with a shot from Jassem Gaber.
Fans of al-Annabi – the Maroons – breathed a collective sigh of relief and finally found their voice.
The first half was drawing to a close with the score at 1-1 until Qatar's favorite footballing son, Akram Afif, produced a magical moment to put the hosts ahead and sparked wild celebrations in the stands.
He shot from the edge of the Iranian area and saw the ball land in the right corner for one of the goals of the tournament.
The Iranian fans watched in silence for a few minutes before resuming their cheering duties.
When the match resumed, both teams surged forward in search of more goals, and Iran saw their attempts rewarded with a penalty after a VAR check on an Iranian corner. Melli team captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh stepped up and coolly scored to bring his team level.
The hero of 2019 finds his place again
Both teams took the game from one extreme to the other and the crowd was carried away by a wave of emotions.
López, who was furious with his defenders for letting Iran in on several occasions, received a yellow card. Meanwhile, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei was much calmer as he watched Qatar launch attack after attack.
The fans were on their feet as chances continued to come for both teams in the final 20 minutes.
In the end, it was Qatar's hero from their 2019 title run, Almoez Ali, who found the ball at his feet in front of an open goal and scored the decisive goal.
The home crowd waved their scarves and swayed to the unofficial Qatari soccer anthem, “Shoomilah Shoomilah,” as they approached the final.
Iran, being a tough opponent, did not give in, but somehow could not find a way past the Qatari goal.
feet | 🇮🇷 GO Iran 2️⃣-3️⃣ Qatar 🇶🇦
Qatar qualifies for #Asian CupFinal for the second time in a row after a great victory against three-time champions IR Iran! 👏#AsianCup2023 | #HayyaAsia | #IRNvQAT pic.twitter.com/guODlYplBK
– #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) February 7, 2024
The referee added 13 minutes of extra time, much to Qatar's bewilderment, but Iran still failed to break even.
In the end, when the referee whistled the end of the game, the men in white collapsed on the field with broken hearts and tired bodies.
Those in maroon ran towards their fans to join in the celebrations.
Ghalenoei cut a distraught figure in the Iranian technical area.
Later, in his post-match press conference, he told reporters that they should only blame him for the heartbreaking loss, as his players had “given everything.”
“Today was one of the worst days of my life,” he added.
“But now our work begins on building a team for the 2026 World Cup,” he said before leaving.
Qatar's hero and player of the match, Afif, admitted that it was not easy to participate in the match, but was grateful for the victory. He said the best is “yet to come” for his team, which is in an enviable position to have a chance to win an Asian Cup title at home.
Standing in their way is their Arab nation and one of the success stories of this Asian Cup, Jordan.
Marquez, who has turned the Maroons' fortunes around in the space of a few weeks, said his team will celebrate tonight but will return to work on Thursday in a bid to retain their title.
As for al-Annabi's fans, they honked their cars outside the stadium and headed to Souq Waqif in the heart of the capital with “Shoomilah Shoomilah” blaring.
