Qatar's Zaid Faisal (centre) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Mongolia, yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Captain Zaid Faisal scored a brace as Qatar blanked Mongolia 2-0 in their opening 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers match at Aspire Academy Pitch 7 yesterday.
The Ahmed Madouni-coached side dominated the match right from the start and could have won by a bigger margin but Mongolia showed resilient defense.
Zaid opened the scoring in a spectacular fashion as he beautifully connected Tamim Al Qadi’s low cross from the left in the far corner in the 18th minute.
The hosts kept pressing the Mongolian defence and nearly doubled their lead when Adam Friakh’s volley forced goalkeeper Bilguun Amartuvshin into a superb rising save in 72nd minute. Zaid thought he had extended his team’s lead by finding the back of the net off a rebound, but the goal was ruled offside.
The Qatar captain, however, managed to complete his brace with a low drive from outside the box, wrapping up the victory in 84th minute.
Qatar will now set sights on their second straight win in Group F when they take on Nepal tomorrow.
“I am happy to play a leading role but the important thing is that we have got three points from the opening match. Now we will focus on our next match with an aim to collect another win,” said Qatar captain Zaid.
After meeting Nepal, Qatar will face Japan in their last group match on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Japan thrashed Nepal 9-2 in other Group F match at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday.
Nepal stunned Japan with Sabin Kumar scoring the opener in the 12th minute before the reigning champions bounced back strongly to claim big victory. Daichi Tani’s fired a super hat-trick (17th, 38th, 43rd, 61st) while Hiroto Asada (19th, 45th+2, 64th) scored a treble in the match.
Mibuki Kasai (73rd) and Kaiji Chonan (77th) also scored for Japan before Bigyan Khadka hit Nepal’s second goal late in the match.
A total of 43 teams, divided into 10 groups – seven groups of four and three groups of five – are competing in the Qualifiers, aiming for spots in the finals. The top side from each group, along with the five best runners-up, will seal their berths in the tournament.
The 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup will be held from April 3 to 20, 2025, in Saudi Arabia.
