AFC
Vienna
Goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham saved a late penalty as Qatar battled from being a goal down to hold Chile 2-2 in their international friendly at the Franz Horr Stadium in Vienna on Tuesday.
Al Annabi not only made a comeback in the match but also survived some anxious moments in the closing stages after receiving a penalty for a foul on Ben Brereton.
But Barsham guessed it right and made a dive to his right to block Alexis Sanchez’s spot kick as Chile remained winless since the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, having failed to make it to Qatar.
Qatar went into the tie determined to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Canada.
Chile, however, were difficult to breach and showed their intent with Sanchez giving them the lead in the 37th minute.
Qatar came out for the second half with renewed purpose but had to wait till the 59th minute for the equaliser, with Akram Afif drawing them level by finishing Almoez Ali’s assist.
Boosted by the equaliser, Qatar upped their tempo and Hassan Al Haydos put them ahead in the 67th minute.
Chile, however, forced their way back into the tie and were rewarded for their efforts with Arturo Vidal drawing them level in the 78th minute.
Qatar, drawn in Group A, will have Ecuador, Senegal and Netherlands for company in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Finals on home soil.
TNN adds: While the Al Annabi were slow off the blocks against a strong man-to-man marking by Chile, they found good rhythm and cohesion midway through the first half.
The first goal reversal was due to Afif’s lapse in concentration as he lost to ball to Chile’s Gabriel Suazo, who combined with Sanchez to break into the box and the latter made no mistake in drawing first blood.
Afif tried hard to make amends but in the 57th minute his left-footed strike was staved off by Chile’s goalkeeper Gabriel Arias.
Minutes later, Afif was back in the box and waiting when a clearance attempt by Chile’s Francisco Sierralta was well blocked in an evasive action by Almoez Ali for the ball to lob towards Afif, who made no mistake to score the equalizer.
Soon, Qatar’s big moment of joy was provided by captain Haydos. With Afif trying to find Almoez on the right side of the box, a deflect saw the ball go to Haydos who from just outside the ‘D’ sent in a telling strike which went on to hit the top of the left pole before going into the goal.
Chile, however, made a comeback with a fine combine between their captain Gary Medel, substitute Ben Diaz and Arturo Diaz. They made good passes while moving into the danger zone and Arturo was in perfect position to level scores once again at 2-2.
The match was played at a fast pace and surely showed Qatar having made some good ground in both their attack and defence.
More importantly, the side which won the Asian Cup in 2019, seems to have found good rhythm.
The Qatar national football team will now be back home for an open training session before home fans on October 2 (Sunday) before they isolate again ahead of the final stretch to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 which begins November 20th with Qatar vs Ecaudor match at the Al Bayt Stadium.
