ABU DHABI: Record-breaker Almoez Ali scored with a spectacular overhead kick as Qatar won their first major soccer title by beating four-time champions Japan 3-1 in the Asian Cup final on Friday, completing an improbable run to glory for the Gulf nation as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup.

After upsetting one of the tournament favorites, players wrapped themselves in Qatari flags in a display of patriotic furore that will have resonated far beyond the field in Abu Dhabi.

Since joining other Arab countries in cutting ties with Doha in 2017, the United Arab Emirates warned residents that expressing sympathy for Qatar could lead to fines and imprisonment. The UAE is among a quartet of nations accusing its regional foe of supporting extremists, which Qatar denies.

There was even an attempt by the UAE to get Qatar disqualified after losing their semifinal. Tournament organisers confirmed only hours before the final they dismissed a challenge by the UAE against the eligibility of two Qatar players who were born outside Qatar.

One of them, Sudan-born Ali, scored the opening goal against Japan in the 12th minute with an audacious overhead kick.

Ali became the first player to score nine goals at a single Asian Cup with his early goal taking him past Ali Daei’s 1996 tally and, combined with a 27th minute strike from Abdulaziz Hatem and a late Akram Afif penalty, helped the Qataris make an emphatic statement.

Japan finally found a way through a Qatar defence that had not conceded in six previous matches when Takumi Minamino scored in the 69th minute but the penalty condemned the Samurai Blue to their first defeat in an Asian Cup final.

Japan, chasing a record-extending fifth title, started the brighter but it was the Qataris who drew first blood through the prolific Ali, who was later named Player of the Tournament.

Afif has set up most of Ali’s goals in the UAE and he was again the provider in the 12th minute with a cross that found the striker in space with his back to goal close to the penalty spot.

There was still plenty of work to do but Ali took a touch off each foot to tee up the ball before angling it past Shuichi Gonda into the corner of the net with a bicycle kick.

The Afif-Ali combination nearly struck again a minute later but the Qataris did not have to wait long to double their lead.

Hatem, who scored the winner against South Korea in the quarter-finals, summoned up another magnificent strike, cutting in from the right before curling the ball past the helpless Gonda into the top left-hand corner.

Japan, whose only previous Asian Cup defeat by Qatar came 31 years ago, mustered little of note, much to the chagrin of their colourful fans among a crowd of 36,000 — several sporting fancy dress, including one hardy soul in an inflatable sumo suit.

The Japanese, who had weathered a first-half storm before beating Iran in the semi-finals, kept their composure but were simply unable to break through the compact lines of Qatar’s defence.

Japan skipper Maya Yoshida clashed heads with Boualem Khoukhi on the hour mark resulting in the big Qatari defender being carried off on a stretcher.

The Qatar defence looked less assured without him and Japan took full advantage when Yuya Osako played in Minamino and the winger chipped the ball over advancing goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.

Japan poured forward looking for an equaliser but, after reference to VAR, Yoshida was adjudged to have blocked Abdelkarim Hassan’s header with his hand in the 80th minute and Afif calmly sent Gonda the wrong way from the spot to complete a fairytale triumph for Qatar.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2019