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Akram Afif stakes claim as one of Asian Cup’s greatest as Qatar win back-to-back titles
Twice, the crowd roared as the dawning realisation of what was about to happen spread like waves amongst them but by the third time, they definitely knew what was coming.
For cometh the hour, cometh Akram Afif.
After positioning himself to take the 21st-minute penalty that would open the scoring in Qatar’s 3-1 win over Jordan in the Asian Cup final on Saturday evening, Qatar skipper Hassan Al-Havdos instead turned away and knocked the ball into the hands of a waiting Afif.
It was a move the Qataris have pulled before, the subtle art of mental disintegration in penalty shootouts, but the crowd responded anyway.
In the 73rd minute, with the scores locked at 1-1 after Yazan Al-Maimat had fired the gallant Jordanians level as part of an improved second-half effort, VAR intervention led referee Ma Ning to determine that Mahmoud Al-Mardi had unfairly brought down Ismaeel Mohammad in the Jordanian penalty area.
Almoez Ali stepped up, before he too turned on his heel and handed the ball off to Afif. Another roar rang out.
Then, in the 91st, following another VAR intervention, this one seeing Ning award a penalty after Jordanian keeper Yazid Abu Layla was adjudged to have brought down Afif’s burst behind the Chivalrous Ones’ lines, Almoez again stood over the spot, ball in hand.
Only this time, the crowd wasn’t going to be fooled. Nobody in Doha was fooled at this point and the Lusail Stadium thundered with a call for Afif to take the spot kick, noise that rose to another level when he moved forward.
On each occasion, the Qatari contingent of the 86,492 reported attendees emanated a sense of eager anticipation and confidence. Not only for the second consecutive Asian Cup title that would soon be theirs, but for a legacy-defining moment for one of the Asian Cup’s greatest-ever players.
The 27-year-old had played a defining role in lifting his side to an upset 3-2 win over Iran in the semifinals just days prior and now, it would fall upon his shoulders once more. And on all three occasions, he was up for the challenge.
To Abu Layla’s credit, he reacted quickly after Afif’s stutter-step run-up and side-footed effort on the first penalty, coming agonisingly close to getting a hand to the shot as he moved down and to his right. But the shot was hit with too much direction and power, nestling into the bottom corner of the net and putting Qatar into the ascendancy.
The Jordanian keeper would again guess right on the second but, once again, prove unable to get a hand to a wickedly hit effort as it flew beyond him and into the back of the net.
Afif then got one up on the keeper when he sealed his hat trick at the death, burying a shot into the bottom right corner as the keeper dived to his left. Qatar’s status as just the fifth Asian nation to defend its crown was now secured off the boot of its talisman.
In 2019, Afif provided ten assists and netted once as Qatar secured their first continental crown. This time around, propelled by his hat-trick in the decider, he has taken out the tournament’s Golden Boot with eight goals, as well as grabbing a further three assists.
More than one and a half goal involvements across two Asian Cups, a key cog in one title and a figure without which a second one simply does not happen — the attacker earning deserved recognition as best on ground and player of the tournament in the aftermath of Saturday’s final.
After his first penalty, he reached into his sock and pulled out a trading card featuring his likeness in celebration of his first goal, showing it to the camera and kissing his ring finger before performing a sleight-of-hand trick to reveal an ‘S’ drawn on the other side. He confirmed post-game that it was a tribute to his wife, who was attending her first match at Lusail; Afif’s own tribute as he was etching his name into the annals of Asian Cup history.
Indeed, to watch Afif in action on stages such as the Asian Cup is to come to engage in an act of simultaneous appreciation and selfishness; of admiration for what he is capable of on a football pitch and a yearning to see someone of his talents tested against the world’s best.
His work to win the penalty was a devastating case in point.
Seconds before Ma pointed to the spot, he had been bearing down the left flank, cushioning perfectly a pass from Lucas Mendes to accelerate beyond defender Abdallah Nasib and towards the Jordanian penalty area in one smooth movement. A lethal blur of afro hair and maroon kit, he would subtly shift his body weight one way and then the other to gain a step on his pursuer before bursting towards the box, with Nasib’s attempts to recover only resulting in the pair’s right legs clipping into each other.
The 27-year-old had brief spells in Spain and Belgium earlier in his career but settled himself at Qatar Stars League side Al Sadd in 2018 — but what if?
That’s not to be dismissive of Qatar’s domestic league, moreso an almost yearning to see just what would happen if this dynamo, one seemingly at the peak of his powers, was tested week in and week out against some of the world’s best defenders while deployed alongside the world’s best attackers. Post-game, he would speak of that of course the idea appeals to him but that it’s not just up to him about his future, that there are many views to be heard, not the least of which is his wife.
“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” he reflected, “it’s destiny.”
It’s funny that he spoke of destiny, because just before halftime there looked like there was going to be a cruel twist of it when Afif sent a brief scare through the crowd after remaining on the turf after going down without contact, with the stretcher called for to carry him off.
He would soon re-emerge, but the soreness remained as he was beaten to a ball into the box by Jordan’s leading light Musa Al-Taamari with Mohammed Waad forced to stage a last-ditch intervention to deflect it away.
He was fine, staying out there as Jordan would refuse to bow in the face of adversity, something they have done all tournament. But alas for coach Hussein Ammouta, the magic that had come to define their run to the final in Doha didn’t have anything left to give in Lusail.
They would hurl numerous attacks forward in their attempt to get into the game before Al-Naimat’s leveller, improving in the second half but unable to get past the brick wall that was Qatari keeper Meshaal Barsham.
Trailing for much of the game, or attempting to capitalise on the momentum of their equaliser, they were forced to take the initiative and control of the ball, denied their free-flowing transition game and instead needed to work against a settled Qatari defence, who in turn could play in transition.
Jordan would end the game with 58% of the ball and 16 shots but with just six of them on target, as Qatar picked their moments and moved the ball into areas where they could win their spot kicks — the timing of which Ammouta’s admitted post-game came at the worst possible time for his squad, while refusing to take issue with any of their awarding.
Of course, to some extent, while Jordan was already a winner having advanced to this point, Qatar needed this win.
After their three straight defeats at a home World Cup a lot of their reputation — the reputation of 2019 — rested on what they could do at home.
Now, perhaps one of the biggest takeaways from the 2023 Asian Cup is just how much Qatar bungled their preparations for the 2022 World Cup, their long overseas tours inadvertently setting them up to perform at a level so below what they should have been able to.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s increasing investment and moves to monopolise major events in the region also threaten to put them in the shade in the years ahead, even if a large number of the soft power, reputational laundering, economic, and infrastructural benefits of hosting major footballing events have already been banked.
Whatever happens, though, they’ll now always be back-to-back Asian champions. And Afif will always be one of the Asian Cup’s greatest ever.
(ESPN)
The aid group Doctors Without Borders has reported recovering 11 bodies and rescuing dozens of people off the coast of Libya as it criticised the migration policies of the North African country and European countries.
In a statement on Friday, the group, known by its French initials MSF, said its Geo Barents rescue vessel managed to recover the bodies following a search operation lasting more than nine hours after being alerted by German nongovernmental organisation Sea-Watch, which also rescues refugees and migrants.
“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to take dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal pathways for them,” MSF said in a post on X. “This catastrophe must end!”
Sea-Watch said it is unclear whether the bodies were victims of a previously unknown shipwreck, adding that they tried to contact Libya’s coastguard to go and retrieve the dead, but received no reply.
“The so-called Libyan coastguard – financed by the EU – ignored our call demanding that the bodies be recovered,” the group said.
Thousands of people trying to head from Africa to Europe use Libya as a departing point, with the Italian island of Lampedusa the nearest European destination as they undertake the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to escape war, poverty and persecution.
Italy, which wants to put a stop to the migration stream, has said Libya and neighbouring Tunisia must do more to stop people from going to sea. It has also clamped down on the operation of the rescue ships, arguing that they encourage people to head to Europe, a charge that is denied by the charities.
Emphasising its policy on the rescue ships, Italy said on Friday that it forced the MSF rescue vessel to take the 165 people that it had saved from boats in the Mediterranean operation to the northern port of Genoa. The port was more than 650 nautical miles (1,200km) from their position and much farther than the more convenient ports in nearby Sicily, significantly delaying assistance to the rescued.
The route in the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world, with the United Nations registering more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the area since 2014.
More than 3,000 refugees and migrants went missing in 2023 while attempting to use the route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
According to Italy’s interior ministry, the number of arrivals in the country has dropped in 2024 to fewer than 21,800 people since the beginning of the year, compared with close to 53,300 in the same period last year.
[Aljazeera]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.
After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
With the pitch assisting both seamers and spinners, chasing 160 was not going to be easy. But few would have expected New Zealand to collapse in the manner they did.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.
Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end. Both batters had luck on their side, too. Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.
That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.
Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.
New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.
Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.
Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.
Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.
Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.
The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.
It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.
Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.
Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 159 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44, Azmatullah Omarzai 22; Trent Boult 2-22, Matt Henry 2-37, Lockie Fergusoan 1-28) beat New Zealand 75 in 15.2 overs (Glenn Phillips 18; Rashid Khan 4 for 17, Fazalhaq Farooqi 4 for 17, Mohammad Nabi 2-16) by 84 runs
[Cricinfo]
