Tajikistan eliminated the fourth place in the last session, and entered the top eight of the Asian Cup for the first time
In a key battle of the Asian Cup 1/8 finals that ended in the early morning of January 29, Beijing time, Tajikistan, ranked 106th in the world, continued its dark horse nature, and they eliminated the world's 64th ranked UAE team with a total score of 6-4 after a penalty shootout, and participated in the Asian Cup for the first time, and entered the top 8 for the first time.
In this Asian Cup, Tajikistan is in a group with the Chinese men's football team, Lebanon and the host Qatar. In the first round of the group stage, Tajikistan drew 0-0 with the national football team, although it lost 0-1 to Qatar in the second round, but with the key victory of 2-1 reversal of Lebanon in the final round, this dark horse from Central Asia, finally beat the Chinese men's football team with 4 points and 2 points, and won the second place in the group.
In the first round of the knockout round, Tajikistan faced the UAE team. In the last Asian Cup, the United Arab Emirates overthrew Australia to reach the top 4 and finally finished fourth. At present, the UAE is ranked 8th in the world in Asia, and its strength is originally above Tajikistan.
However, Tajikistan performed a miracle again, in the 30th minute, Zhuraboyev forced a cross from the right side of the penalty area, and Hanonov pressed the UAE defender to head the ball into the goal. It wasn't until the tick ticked in regulation time that the UAE was headed home by Saleh's free-kick and Hammadi headed it home.
In extra time, neither side achieved anything. And in a brutal penalty shootout. Tajikistan made 5 of 5 free throws and successfully eliminated the United Arab Emirates with a final score of 6-4 on aggregate. According to the statistics after the game, Tajikistan is not at a disadvantage in terms of the number of shots on goal and the number of shots on target and the absolute chances created despite the disadvantage in possession. It can be said that Tajikistan's performance in this Asian Cup is indeed impressive.
After knocking out the UAE to reach the last eight, Tajikiz will await the winner between Iraq and Jordan. After creating miracles in a row to reach the top 8, no one dares to ignore this new army from Central Asia. From this point of view, being pressed by this dark horse team that is in the limelight and losing the qualification, the Chinese men's football team does not seem to be wronged in stopping the group stage of this Asian Cup.