Qatar lose to China in AFC U-20 Asian Cup

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February 12, 2025
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12-February-2025

Qatar lose to China in AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Shenzhen: China PR produced a strong start to defeat Qatar 2-1 in their opening AFC U-20 Asian Cup Group A match on Wednesday.

A dominant first half performance that saw China PR swarm Qatar paved the way for the victory as they went level on points with Australia, who beat Kyrgyz Republic 5-1 earlier in the day. 

The hosts went on the offensive from the opening whistle, pinning Qatar in their own half with a curling Wang Yudong free-kick being an early test for goalkeeper Abubaker Osman.   Building up momentum, China PR’s high intensity paid off in the 17th minute as Mao Weijie won the ball off Moath Ibrahim high up the pitch to set up Kuai Jiwen for a low shot into the bottom corner. 

A shell-shocked Qatar side had little time to regroup before they went further behind four minutes later after Chen Zeshi’s through pass found Liu Chengyu, whose first touch took him past the onrushing Osman before rolling the ball into an unguarded goalmouth.  Qatar provided a reminder to China PR that they were still in the game with a Mohamed Gouda mazy run that ended with his effort bouncing off the post before Osman came to the rescue to turn away another Wang free-kick as the score stayed unchanged until half-time. 

Qatar appeared for the second half with determination and were quicker to challenges, which led to them pulling a goal back in the 55th minute when Mohamed Hani Faragalla turned in Tahsin Jamshid’s cutback from the right. 

After weathering Qatar’s aggression, China PR regained control of the match with Chen producing a long range strike that Osman did well to tip over the bar just after the hour mark.  A tired looking Qatar tried but could not find further breakthrough as China PR held on until the final whistle to start the campaign on a positive note.  China PR next face Kyrgyz Republic on Saturday, while Qatar play Australia.