Asian Cup debutants Tajikistan on Sunday celebrated making more history as they stunned the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on penalties to join Australia in the quarter-finals.
After the game ended 1-1 in Doha following 120 tense minutes, Tajikistan won a dramatic shootout 5-3 with Alisher Shukurov holding his nerve with the final spot-kick.
The Central Asians, ranked 106th in the world and at their first Asian Cup, now face either Jordan or the 2007 champions Iraq in the last eight.
Photo: Reuters
Goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov made the decisive save from Caio Canedo with the UAE’s second penalty of the shoot-out, and his outfield teammates did the rest.
Tajikistan’s charismatic Croatian coach Petar Segrt called his team “the black horses of the tournament,” adding that “nobody knows how far we can go.”
“I have no limits for the players because every game they surprise me again,” he said. “My next dream is to go to the next round again. I think in Tajikistan tonight, nobody will sleep.”
Tajikistan had looked set for a famous victory in normal time when Vakhdat Khanonov scored with a 30th-minute header, only for Khalifa al-Hammadi to equalize in the 95th minute and send the game into extra-time.
“I dedicate this goal to my brother who passed away,” the defender Khanonov said. “He is not with us and can’t see my happiness.”
The UAE reached the semi-finals at the last two Asian Cups, but Paulo Bento’s side bow out to a side ranked more than 40 places lower than them.
Tajikistan drew with China and beat Lebanon in the first round to advance as Group A runners-up.
Segrt said the UAE’s late equalizer had taken the wind out of his team, but “then very fast the players got up.”
“This is the character of the players, of the coach, of the country,” he said. “This is the fighting spirit.”
Australia set up a tasty clash against South Korea or Saudi Arabia in the last eight with a 4-0 win over a spirited, but limited Indonesia.
The Socceroos are trying to win the title for a second time and were again solid rather than spectacular in getting the job done in the tricky encounter.
Two goals in the first half, a deflected own goal on 12 minutes and a diving header by Martin Boyle on the stroke of the break, put Graham Arnold’s side on their way.
With Indonesia out of gas at the end, Craig Goodwin volleyed in a rebound on 89 minutes for 3-0 and defender Harry Souttar made it four in stoppage-time.
The scoreline flattered Australia, but it was their third clean sheet in four matches and they have conceded only once.
“Indonesia made it tough for us, physically they were very big and strong,” coach Graham Arnold said. “We told the boys to be ready for a fight and a physical battle.”
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who