Asian Cup. Tajikistan makes it to the playoffs and Qatar's quiet victory

The third round of the group stage in the Asian Cup, taking place in Qatar, has commenced. In the first set of matches, the tournament hosts played against China, while Tajikistan faced Lebanon.

Qatar - China - 1:0

In the first half, Qatar had more ball possession, but lacked sharpness. The tournament hosts did not deliver any shots on target, and China only managed one. Consequently, a predictable 0:0 result ensued after the first half. After the break, Qatar finally took the lead with a goal in the 66th minute. Al-Haydos executed a beautifully crafted shot that proved to be the winning goal.

Qatar secured three victories out of three in the group stage of the Asian Cup, claiming the top spot and advancing to the playoffs.

Tajikistan - Lebanon - 2:1

In the first half, Tajikistan dominated possession and managed to score in injury time. However, the referees took a pause to review the replay and disallowed the goal due to an offside decision. In the early stages of the second half, Lebanon took the lead with a goal from Zradí in the 48th minute. However, six minutes later, they were reduced to ten men due to the expulsion of defender El Zein.

On the 70th minute, the referees disallowed another goal for Tajikistan, again for offside. It took them another 11 minutes to score a "clean" goal. Umarbayev became the scorer of the decisive strike. Another 11 minutes later, Khamroqulov put Tajikistan ahead and secured victory for their team.

This win was incredibly crucial, allowing Tajikistan to accumulate four points, rise to the second place, and qualify for the playoffs.