Tajikistan team made a historic break into the top 8 The Chinese team is lucky not to lose to its opponent
On the evening of January 28, local time, when the final whistle sounded for the UAE team VS Tajikistan team in the 1/8 finals of the Asian Cup, the fans at the scene, including reporters in the media stands, gave applause to the "fresh" Tajikistan team of the event off the field.
In this game, which was originally predicted that there would be no surprises, Tajikistan, which is now ranked 106th in the world and 19th in Asia, eliminated the United Arab Emirates, which is currently ranked 64th in the world and 8th in Asia, with a penalty shootout, with an aggregate score of 6-4, thus breaking into the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup for the first time. As the last team in this tournament, this team has made history. Some Chinese reporters who watched the game at the scene also coincidentally said: "The Chinese team is lucky to be able to draw with such a team in the group stage." ”
Less than 10 minutes after the match between the UAE and Tajikistan, the AFC quickly posted a photo of Tajikistan goalkeeper Yatimov kneeling and waiting to hug his teammates in the headline of its official website. The AFC officially reported on the match under the headline "Debut Tajikistan team advanced after defeating the UAE team", although the content of the title is relatively simple and straightforward, but it is full of respect for the Tajikistan team to break the team's historical record in the competition.
In the 30th minute of the first half, Hanonov received a cross from teammate Yurabayev and broke the deadlock with a header. The UAE did not equalise until the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half of regular time through a header from Al Hamadi. Extra time total = middle, the two teams did not achieve anything from each other. The game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out. During this period, Tajikistan made 5 of 5 free throws, while the opponent only hit 3 times, and finally Tajikistan won the penalty shootout 5-3 and eliminated the opponent with an aggregate score of 6-4, reaching the top 8 of the Asian Cup for the first time in history.
If you look at the 6-6 equalized shooting statistics between the two sides in 120 minutes, you will understand that the Tajikistan team did not shrink from the defense in this game, but played very actively, and their record in advancing to the quarterfinals is convincing.
After the game, the members of the Tajikistan team cheered heartily on the field and on the sidelines. Tajikistan coach Shegert is like a child king, singing, dancing and screaming with his disciples, interacting with the fans affectionately.
When it comes to the Tajikistan team, Chinese fans and media can't help but associate them with the Chinese team. In June 2019, the Chinese team beat Tajikistan by one goal, but in that friendly match, the Chinese team played extremely hard. In fact, China's national echelon has played against teams of the same age in Tajikistan many times before. For example, the Chinese national youth team in the 1997 and 1999 age groups lost to the Tajikistan national youth team of the same age in the 2016 and 2018 Asian Youth Championships respectively. And now this Tajikistan team is based on players from these two age groups. In this way, it is actually a normal thing for the Chinese team to be unable to defeat their opponents in the group stage of this Asian Cup.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily, Doha, Qatar Special correspondent Xiao Yun
Editor/Wang Fan