Qatar thrash UAE amid shoe barrage to reach Asian Cup final
Qatar punished unwelcoming hosts United Arab Emirates 4-0 to reach their first Asian Cup final.
ABU DHABI (AFP) - Qatar punished unwelcoming hosts United Arab Emirates 4-0 in a politically charged clash marred by disgraceful behaviour from shoe-throwing fans Tuesday to reach their first Asian Cup final.
The Qataris, whose national anthem was drowned by boos before the game, face Japan in Friday s final after goals from Boualem Khoukhi, Almoez Ali, Hasan Al-Haydos and Hamid Ismaeil sealed victory for the 2022 World Cup hosts amid ugly scenes in Abu Dhabi.
As they celebrated a famous win and record sixth clean sheet at a single Asian Cup, plastic bottles rained down from angry local fans -- as they had for each Qatari goal, with midfielder Salem Al-Hajri even hit on the head after their third.
"It wasn t an easy situation," admitted Qatar coach Felix Sanchez. "The players were aware there was going to be a lot of pressure but they managed their emotions quite well -- I m very proud of them."
A match bristling with simmering regional tension over the long-standing Gulf blockade of Qatar quickly burst into life as a meaty tackle from Bandar Al-Ahbabi on Akram Afif put the Qatari midfielder up in the air.
But Qatar drew first blood after 21 minutes when Khoukhi s shot squirted under UAE goalkeeper Khalid Eisa, to the horror of a hostile crowd of 38,000.
Afif was then targeted by bottle-throwing Emirati fans as he tried to take a corner, appealing desperately to the referee as he stepped away from the kick.
Qatar exacted swift retribution eight minutes before the break, however, Ali smashing home a right-footed shot from the edge of the box to equal Ali Daei s 1996 record of eight goals in a single Asian Cup.
As the Sudan-born striker celebrated, more bottles and even shoes -- a deeply insulting provocation in Arab culture, as former US president George W. Bush famously discovered on a visit to Baghdad in 2008 -- were flung at the players.
A half-time entertainer sang "Let s bring Asia together" but there was little harmony in evidence as the crowd -- boosted by mass give-aways exclusively to locals -- continued to hurl abuse at the Qataris.
Runners-up the last time they hosted the Asian Cup in 1996, UAE almost pulled a goal back after the interval when Ali Mabkhout forced Saad Al-Sheeb into a fingertip save before Ahmed Khalil also tested Al-Sheeb s reflexes.
But Qatar never looked seriously troubled and captain Al-Haydos coolly chipped in a third to spark further chaos as the atmosphere began to turn sinister, Al-Hajri knocked to the ground as more missiles streamed onto the pitch.
Defender Ismail Ahmed was then shown a red card in stoppage time for an elbow on Al-Hajri, before Ismaeil added a breakaway fourth to compound UAE s misery.
"I apologise to the leadership of the country," said Alberto Zaccheroni after his last game as Emirates coach.
"I don t think the sensitivity of the fixture had any impact on the result. We simply failed in our objective and I assume full responsibility."
