The host Qatar sealed its pass to the quarterfinals of the Arab Cup on Friday, which is played as a test bed for the 2020 World Cup, by adding against Oman (2-1) its second win in two days in group A.
At the Rayán Education City stadium, Qatar’s unexpected hero was Fahmi Dirban. The defender of Al Nasr al Salaleh of Oman, in an unfortunate clearance, slipped the ball into his goal as the 97th minute ran and the game was about to expire.
Somewhat suspenseful that sparked joy among the home crowd after goal technology confirmed that the ball had completely cleared the line.
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Those of the Spanish Fèlix Sánchez, a coach trained in the Barcelona quarry, suffered throughout the game despite going ahead on the scoreboard thanks to a penalty transformed by the Qatari Al Saad striker Akram Afif, the most outstanding man of the match.
However, the hosts did not know how to close the duel and saw how in the 74th minute Kalid al Hajri (of Al Dhofra of the Emirates) took advantage of a corner kick to equalize the contest and keep his aspirations intact.
The other results
In this group A, Bahrain and Iraq drew without goals, which leaves both teams with options to qualify in the last day in which the hosts will not play anything against the Iraqis (2 points) and Bahrainis and Omanis, both with One point, they will fight a duel to the death.
In Group B, the United Arab Emirates took a giant step towards the quarter-finals thanks to their second victory thanks to an agonizing goal by Jalil al Hammadi in the 93rd minute against Mauritania, already eliminated with 0 points. Syria gave the surprise by beating Tunisia, one of the favorite teams, 2-0, and both have 3 points.