DOHA: Defending champions Qatar became the first team to advance to the knockout stages of the Asian Cup with a 1-0 win over Tajikistan on Wednesday after Akrim Afif scored to seal top spot for the hosts in Group ‘A’ with a game to spare.

China’s 0-0 draw with Lebanon earlier in the day means Qatar are guaranteed to go through to the last 16 as group winners.

Tajikistan dominated the opening stages at the tent-like Al Bayt Stadium but it was Qatar who took the lead in the 17th minute when Almoez Ali won a scrappy battle in midfield to regain possession and released Afif, who chipped the onrushing goalkeeper to find the net.

Tajikistan went down to 10 men in the 81st minute when Amadoni Kamolov was sent off for kicking Ahmed Al Ganehi in the chin as he fell over while challenging for the ball, with the referee producing a straight red card after a VAR review.

Asian Cup debutants Tajikistan had their mome­nts but they lacked either the final pass or the final touch in the box to test the Qatar keeper, as the central Asian side extended their wait for a first goal in the tournament.

Tajikistan drew 0-0 with China in their opening game for their first point ever at the Asian Cup. They still have a chance to qualify for the knockout round and face Lebanon on Monday. Qatar play China in their final group match the same day.

Earlier, lower-ranked Lebanon twice struck China’s crossbar while the Chinese had an effort cleared off the line in an entertaining stalemate at the 44,000-capacity Al Thumama Stadium.

On Tuesday, Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia fought back to defeat Oman 2-1 in the dying seconds, but only after some VAR confusion at a packed Khalifa International Stadium.

The ambitious Saudis beat eventual champions Argentina in the group phase of the 2022 World Cup and returned to Qatar as one of the favourites for the regional tournament.

They are seeking a record-equalling fourth Asian Cup, off the back of a big-money recruitment drive that has lured the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo to the kingdom’s domestic league.

Saudi Arabia is also set to host the 2034 World Cup.

Their opening Group ‘F’ match started badly when they conceded a penalty — and finished in farcical scenes in front of a bemused crowd of 41,987.

Deep into injury time and with the Saudis pushing to make it 2-1, Ali Al-Bulayhi headed in following a corner to spark pandemonium for what they thought was the winner.

The goal was disallowed for offside by the assistant referee, and was checked by VAR. He appeared in replays to have been onside.

Then came the confusion when it appeared that referee Shaun Evans had stuck with the original offside call and the game restarted, only for him to call back play and award the goal.

Bulayhi, who celebrated by inflating a green balloon as his team-mates mobbed him, afterwards called his winner “a gift to the Saudi people”. “Scoring at the end of the match, this is what great players do,” said the 34-year-old defender.

Mancini, who took the Saudi reins in September, said his side made mistakes in the first half “but this is normal in the first game”.

The victory takes Saudi Arabia level on three points with Thailand, who beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in the other Group ‘F’ encounter earlier in the day.

Mancini’s men went behind in the 14th minute when Evans gave a penalty for a trip on Oman forward Muhsen Al-Ghassani, having checked the VAR screen. Salaah Al-Yahyaei stepped up to score with a confident finish down the middle to give lower-ranked Oman a surprise lead.

Oman were disciplined in defence but Saudi Arabia were the better side in the second half and after missing a couple of chances, Abdulrahman Ghareeb took it upon himself to dribble past four Oman defenders before finishing calmly to get the Saudis singing again with 12 minutes left.

And once Al-Bulayhi com­p­leted the comeback, the green corner of the

stadium erupted when their players celebrated while Oman were left to wonder what could have been.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2024