Ali hits four as Qatar clinch knockout spot
Qatar striker Almoez Ali scored a record-equalling four goals to lead his side to a 6-0 thrashing of North Korea and into the Asian Cup knockout stages yesterday.
North Korea were guilty of ball-watching twice early on as Qatar went 2-0 up within 11 minutes thanks to Ali’s sharp finishing.
Ali opened the scoring at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain, after nine minutes when he was given time to control Akram Afif’s left-wing cross and bury his finish.
A second followed two minutes later when he clipped home Hasan Al-Haydos’s ball from the right.
With the North Korean fans providing the only noise in the stadium, the team from the communist country nearly gave them something to cheer.
Ri Un Chol blazed a powerful shot over from the edge of the box, and Kim Song Gi saw his header from a corner unfortunately blocked by team-mate Kim Kyong Hun.
But Boualem Khoukhi ensured Qatar were firmly in control at half-time by scoring a header two minutes before the interval.
There was little respite for North Korea after the break, with Ali the chief tormentor once again.
He completed the Asian Cup 2019’s first hat-trick 10 minutes after half-time, when he coolly dinked the ball over goalkeeper Kim Myong Guk after Afif’s slide-rule pass into the box. The same combination were on hand again as Sudanese-born Ali made it 5-0.
He may have finished his goal-scoring exploits for the day, but Ali then turned provider by setting up 2018 Asian player of the year Abdelkarim Hassan for Qatar’s sixth.
North Korea, who have now shipped 10 unanswered goals after their 4-0 loss to Saudi Ara-
bia, finished with 10 men after Swiss-based captain Jong Il Gwan received a second yellow card in injury time.
Ali joins three other players from three separate tournaments – Ali Daei for Iran in 1996, Bahrain’s Ismaeel Abdullatif in 2011, and Hamza Al Dardour of Jordan in 2015 – by scoring four goals in a single Asian Cup game.
After his goal during Qatar’s opening win against Lebanon, Ali leads the tournament’s scoring charts with five goals.
The win guarantees Qatar’s progress to the last-16 alongside Saudi Arabia.
The two sides face each other in the final round of Group E fixtures on Thursday at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Qatar currently lead the standings on goal difference.
Meanwhile, North Korea face Lebanon at the same time at Sharjah Stadium, with both sides seeking to win their first points of the tournament.