Paulo Bento was hit by Tajikistan after a penalty shootout.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), led by Bento, drew 1-1 in the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup held at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Alayyan, Qatar, at 7 p.m. on the 28th (local time), but failed to advance to the quarterfinals due to a loss in a penalty shootout. Tajikistan, which reached the round of 16 following its first Asian Cup in history, has reached the quarterfinals, creating the most unusual event of the tournament.
UAE came out in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Khalid Asa, Bader Naser, Khalifa Al Hamadi, Khalid, Al Hashemi, Zayed Sultan, Abdallah Ramadan, Yahia Nader, Yahia Al Gasani, Tahnun Al Javi, Fabiu Lima and Kaio Canedo started.
Tajikistan launched a 4-4-2 formation. Yatimov, Nazarov, Dujurabovov, Hanonov, Safarov, Umarbayev, Sukurov, Panshanbe, Mabachoev, Jalilov and Samiev were named in the starting lineup.
Bento, who has long led South Korea to the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, is leading the UAE with all of his teams. The UAE was grouped with Iran, Palestine, and Hong Kong, and reached the round of 16, taking second place with one win, one draw, and one loss. In a match against Iran at Education City Stadium, the UAE ranked second after a theater goal and was placed in the round of 16.
At that time, Bento sat on the bench after being sent off in a match against Palestine. The situation was similar to the third match of the Qatar World Cup. Bento, who has advanced to the round of 16, will now meet Tajikistan. Tajikistan, which many people are unfamiliar with, is a Central Asian country and a country that became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Tajikistan, with a population of 10.33 million, came up for the first time after failing to participate in the Asian Cup finals even once. They faced China in the first stage of the finals, and they tied 0-0 in a combative state. Tajikistan, which lost 0-1 to Qatar, defeated Lebanon 2-1.
His luck did not keep up with his team, with two goals cancelled, but after Lebanon was sent off, he saved the flow and scored two goals to achieve a miraculous victory. “The match against the UAE will be a 50:50 game,” Tajikistan coach Petar Segert told an official pre-press conference on Monday. “We are not underdogs, we are on equal footing now. We won a historic match, and we will continue to play in historic matches and we want to continue playing in historic matches.”
Bento said, “I’m preparing in the best atmosphere. It’s going to be a tough game. Tajikistan is at its peak of atmosphere and will be highly motivated as they reach the first round of 16 ever. He has good speed going forward and he keeps good cover. We’re preparing hard and we’ll definitely go up to the next round.”
When asked how to motivate Tajikistan, he said, “Tagistan will have a lot of motivation, but our players are preparing properly. They may have better motivation than us, but they have a good attitude and they are doing their best to achieve their possible goals.” Regarding Segert’s comment, “This is a 50:50 game,” Segert said, “That’s right. Tajikistan performed the best and needs respect. We need to think about how we will play and how we will perform.”
UAE took the lead from the start. They secured the possession and opened the way with passes to Al Gasani and Kaio. Ramadan was injured and left out when shots were rarely seen. Ramadan is the core of the UAE’s midfield. Abdullah Hamad entered in the 16th minute of the first half where Ramadan was missing. In the 17th minute of the first half, Mabachoev almost had a one-on-one chance, but he was blocked by Khalid.
Tajikistan’s attacks continued. UAE rarely gave up flow and allowed space on the side. In the 30th minute of the first half, Tajikistan started to take a surprise lead when Hanonov scored a header from Jurabov’s cross. Khalid was injured while blocking Hanonov’s shot, but he said he would run as it was.
With the start of the second half, Abdullah Idris came in instead of Hasemi. UAE launched attack with Al Ghasani at the forefront. Tajikistan was disappointed when Jalilov Heather was blocked by Khalid’s defense in the 7th minute of the second half. Panshanbe’s shot in the 10th minute of the second half was barely shot by Khalid. Tajikistan was not just defending, but was struggling to score a goal by launching a sharp counterattack. In the corner kick situation, Mabachoev Heather was wrong.
Amid the UAE’s defensive mistake, Tajikistan seized a decisive opportunity. Zalilov had a one-on-one chance with Khalid and even shot, but he was blocked. In the 14th minute of the second half, Zalilov counterattacked once again. He went to the front of the goal in connection and shot, but he was blocked. In the 17th minute of the second half, Zayed and Almenhali were missing, and Khaled Aldhani and Ali Saleh came in.
Once again, Zalilov seized a good opportunity. In the 25th minute of the second half, Samiyev showed his tenacity and stole the ball from the right to break through. Samiyev’s cross was directed to Zalilov. Zalilov pushed in from behind and fired a shot, but it was wrong. In the 27th minute of the second half, Rustam Soirov came in instead of Samiev, who was injured. Nurdin Hamrokulov came in instead of Zalilov. The UAE used its last replacement card in the 28th minute of the second half with Majed Almerge without Nader.
Tajikistan missed another chance to take the lead. In the 31st minute of the second half, Kashkulov sent a header but missed the goal slightly. UAE launched an attack in 32 minutes of the second half for the first time in a long time and even had a Saleh shot, but it was hit by a side net. Ebrahim’s good breakthrough came out in the 35th minute of the second half, but his cross was blocked. Rashid’s mid-range shot also fell to nothing as it was hit by defense. Yatimov caught al-Gasani’s volley in the 36th minute of the second half. 꽁머니
The UAE launched a last-minute offensive. They were given seven minutes to add to the second half. Al Gasani’s shot was hit by the post at the 1st minute of extra time in the second half. The UAE sought to score by sending the ball forward, but it was hardly finished. Yatimov’s stable defense shone a light. The UAE scored a dramatic equalizer at the 5th minute of extra time in the second half. As Alhamadi scored a header, the UAE made it 1-1.
In the 7th minute of extra time in the second half, Tajikistan lost their chance to score when Kajankulov Heather was blocked by Khalid. The regular time ended 1-1, and the game went to extra time. Panshanbe scored and
With the first half and the beginning of extra time, Al-Jabi was missing and Ali Salmin came in. The match was played with UAE taking the lead. Panshanbe’s shot went out of goal at 4 minutes in extra time. Salmin’s mid-range shot at 9 minutes in extra time was far from the goal. Both teams failed to create proper attack opportunities. The first half of extra time also ended 1-1.
In the second half of extra time, the two teams performed stably without overdoing it. Soirov’s breakthrough came in the eighth minute of extra time, but it did not lead to a shot. Al Gasani’s shot in the ninth minute of extra time was held by Yatimov. The extra time in extra time was four minutes. The game was also 1-1 in extra time. Now the game is headed to a penalty shootout.
[A penalty shootout]
Tajikistan started. The first kicker was Nazarov. Nazarov succeeded. Idris scored the first kicker for the UAE. Hanonov succeeded, but Kaio missed, giving Tajikistan the lead. Fabiu Lima scored the first goal. Fourth kicker Royceov scored, giving Tajikistan an advantage. The fourth kicker for the UAE was Saleh. The flow was unknown as Saleh succeeded.
When Tajikistan’s last kicker scored, it was over. The kicker was Shkroff, and with success, the game ended with Tajikistan’s victory.