Qatar defeat Indonesia in AFC U23 Asian Cup

Doha: Qatar opened their AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Group A campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Indonesia at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday. Qatar took the lead just before the half-time break through Khaled Ali’s penalty, with Ahmed al-Rawi scoring the second with a stunning free-kick after Indonesia were reduced to 10 men a minute into the second half. “ The players fought hard for this well-deserved victory. We were better in the first-half as compared to the second-half,” Qatar coach Ilidio Vale said“ . As I said it earlier, we will take one step at a time and now we will have to focus on our next match which is against Jordan. It will be a tougher challenge for us.” Qatar pressed Indonesia right from the get-go with Hashmi al-Hussain testing the ’keeper in the third minute. The young Maroons continued to find openings, but neither Mostafa Meshaal nor Mahdi Salem could beat goalkeeper Ernando Ari with their efforts in the 14th and 17th minutes respectively. Al-Rawi should have opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark following a counter-attacking move, but the Al Rayyan forward couldn’t get his shot on target. Indonesia, however, began to find their footing and Qatari keeper Youssef Abdullah was forced into action by a Mohamed Ferarri header in the 36th minute, before Rafael Struick struck the upright three minutes later. A foul by Indonesia captain Rizky Ridho on Salem, however, proved costly as Qatar were awarded a penalty after a VAR review, with Ali converting the spot-kick in added time. Indonesia started the second half on an aggressive note but were dealt a blow when Ivar Jenner was given his marching orders after picking up his second yellow card seconds into the restart. It became worse for Indonesia in the 54th minute when Witan Sulaeman fouled Meshaal some 30 yards out, with al-Rawi making up for his first half miss with a sublime free-kick that curled past the defence and into the bottom right corner. A downside for Qatar, however, were injuries suffered by both scorers Ali and al-Rawi which could make them doubtful for Thursday’s match against Jordan while Indonesia lost Ramadhan Sananta after a VAR review saw the referee replace an initial yellow card with a red for the substitute’s wild lunge on Mohamed Aiash.  

Stage set for Qatar Open Golf Championship

Doha: The Qatar Golf Association announced that the 38th edition of the Qatar Open Championship will be organized from April 18 to 20, with the participation of 120 of the best amateur players. To be held at Doha Club, the tournament is played in an individual system, where the number of actual hits for all participants is calculated on the first day as well as the second day, and then only the best 60 players qualify to play on the final day to determine the first places and the winner of the title. Organized by the Qatar Golf Association, the Championship has come a long way since its inception in 1983, with the Association continuing to hold the Open Championship while developing it.

AFC U23 Asian Cup to begin on Monday

Doha: There will be no holding back when Indonesia open their AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Group A campaign at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday. Awaiting the tournament debutants are hosts Qatar, who are equally determined to go all the way after the senior team won the AFC Asian Cup title for the second consecutive time just weeks ago. Qatar head coach Ilidio Vale said the immediate target for his side is to seal Olympic qualification, with three automatic spots available in the tournament. The goal of this tournament is to qualify for the Olympics. It is good exposure to compete with the best teams in Asia, and I believe everyone should make the best of this time whether you’re a coach, player or administrator,” said the Portuguese. "The Qatar Football Association has provided us with everything we need from infrastructure to equipment. We are fully prepared and will be competing hard in this group stage. We may not be favourites to win, but we will give our best in every match. "I hope the win of Qatar’s senior national team will be a morale booster for the U23 team, but I want to reassure everyone that there is no pressure on our team. It’s a different competition, this AFC U23 Asian Cup is with different teams and objectives. However, I would like the U23 squad to achieve the same excellent results of their seniors.” Indonesia head coach Shin Tae-yong expects a tough encounter but the former South Korea manager expects the Southeast Asian side to produce their best despite the absence of several key players. "Qatar, Australia and Jordan are extremely competitive,” said Shin, who steered his native South Korea to the quarter-finals of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.” "The AFC U23 Asian Cup is not in the FIFA calendar, so I can’t say that we have had the perfect preparation, but we have the mindset to improve, continue to develop ourselves and hopefully, we have a good performance.” The tactician admitted Qatar, with home ground advantage, will start as favourites but was optimistic Indonesia can match their opponents based on their form in friendly matches against West Asian opponents  

Team Qatar to participate in Youth GCC Games

Doha: The state of Qatar will take part in the 1st Youth GCC Games, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates from April 16 to May 2, 2024.   The Qatar Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that 145 athletes from Qatar will compete in the games.  They will participate in 22 different team and individual sports including Handball, Basketball 3x3, Volleyball, Athletics, Boxing, Jujitsu, Archery, Judo, Swimming, Karate, Esports, Golf, Badminton, Cycling, Sailing, Table Tennis, Fencing, Triathlon, Equestrian, Chess and Para Athletics.  The inaugural edition of the Youth GCC Games will bring together 3,500 athletes from the six GCC nations to compete in 25 individual and team sports under the theme of "Our Gulf is One... Our Youth is Promising". Abu Dhabi will host football, swimming, judo, track cycling, sailing, jiu-jitsu and boxing while Dubai will host table tennis, athletics, volleyball, e-sports and golf competitions. Sharjah will host basketball 3×3, handball, karate, chess, archery, equestrian events such as show jumping and dressage, and track cycling. Fujairah will host taekwondo, fencing and badminton, while Ajman will host triathlon.

Qatar U23 team lose to China in a friendly match

Doha: Qatar U23 team suffered a 0-2 defeat against China in a friendly match on Tuesday ahead of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, which is starting next month. The Qatar U23 squad will also take on Malaysia on Sunday.  Hosts Qatar are in Group A of the 16-team continental event along with Australia, Jordan and Indonesia. Qatar U-23 squad: Ali Nader, Amir Hassan, Youssef Abdullah ((goalkeepers), Abdullah Al Ali, Abdullah Al Yazidi, Abdulaziz Mohammed, Abdulla Youssef, Ahmed Al Saeed, Ahmed Riyadh, Ayaub Al Ouwi, Eissa Al Nagar, Faisal Mohammed, Fares Saeed, Hassan Al Ghareeb, Hashemi Al Hussain, Jassem Al Sharshani, Khaled Ali, Latif Majer, Mostafa Al Sayed, Mohammad Jouda, Mohammad Khaled, Mohammad Mannai, Mubarak Shannan, Naif Al Hadrami, Nabil Erfan, Saif Al Din Hassan, Tameem Mansour, Youssef Ali.  

Team Qatar soar to all-time high in FIFA ranking

Doha, Qatar: Two-time Asian champions Qatar leapfrogged to their highest-ever 34th position in the latest FIFA Ranking following back-to-back victories against Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 joint qualifiers. The Marquez Lopez’s side which defeated Kuwait 3-0 and 2-1 in the double-header recently had jumped 21 places to 37th in the previous world standings following their successful Asian Cup title defence in which they won seven straight matches. Qatar have won all four previous matches in their group at joint qualifiers, including 8-1 and 3-0 wins over Afghanistan and India. Their fine show in the competition took them to the third round of World Cup qualifiers besides sealing their berth for the Asian Cup.   They are placed second among Arab teams behind World Cup semi-finalists Morocco – ranked 13th in the world ranking announced yesterday by the governing body. Al Annabi are fifth best placed side in Asia behind Japan (18), Iran (20) South Korea (23) and Australia (24).   A total of 174 matches, spanning all four corners of the globe, were played during the most recent window in the men’s international Match Calendar. Asian teams were involved in various formats, including FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers, whereas the Concacaf zone witnessed the final phase of the Nations League. There were also several friendly matches in each of the six confederations as part of the FIFA Series 2024.