Doha (WAM)
Our national team achieved its first victory in the Arab Football Cup, by defeating its Syrian counterpart 2-1 in the match that brought them together at Stadium 974 in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the first round of Group B competitions, in the tournament hosted by Qatar until December 18.
“Al-Abyad” scored its first three points in the tournament, equal in the number of points with the Tunisian team, which had defeated in the same group in its first match against its Mauritanian counterpart, 5-1, but the goal difference gave the Tunisian team the lead.
Our national team imposed its supremacy in the first half, and put pressure on the Syrian team’s goal early, and translated this control with two successive goals through Cayo Canedo with a header in the 24th minute, and Ali Saleh with a shot from inside the penalty area in the 30th minute, and succeeded in resolving the midfield position for most of his advantage. times this half.
The Syrian team tried to adjust the result before the end of the first half, but Ali Khaseef, our national team goalkeeper, defended his goal valiantly and saved the most dangerous opportunity that threatened his goal, from the Syrian Muhammad Othman’s shot from a free kick, which he sent away to a corner before the end of this half.
The Syrian team’s activity increased in the second half, and the Syrian Ward Al-Salama succeeded in reducing the difference in the 60th minute by scoring the first goal for his country in a net against Ali Khaseef. The Syrian team scored a powerful shot from the substitute player Tahnoun Al Zaabi, and the UAE players missed more than one opportunity in the last minutes of the match.
The opening day of the tournament witnessed a positive one-to-one tie between the Iraqi and Omani teams, while the Qatari team – the host of the tournament – beat its Bahraini counterpart with a single goal.
The second matches of the tournament will witness today, 4 matches, where the Algerian and Sudanese teams meet first, then Egypt plays Lebanon, followed by Morocco’s match with Palestine, and finally the matches conclude with the confrontation of Saudi Arabia with Jordan.
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