Doha: Yemen made a sensational start to their campaign in the AFC U-16 Championship Malaysia 2018 Qualifiers after beating hosts Qatar 6-1 at the Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha on Wednesday.
Qatar took the lead in the seventh minute through a cracking strike from their forward Jassim Fahad Al Zarra and looked in control of the game for a brief period, but once Yemen equalised through Osamah Samer Al Baadani in the 18th minute, it was a different story altogether.
Yemen then took the lead in the 27th minute through a penalty after Jassim, who scored Qatar’s opener, handled the ball inside the box, and defender Yousef Thabit had no problem converting from the spot.
Tamer Nadhel Sanen made it 3-1 for Yemen in the 67th minute after a defensive mistake from Qatar while Yahya Esam Al Baleet scored to make it 4-1 in the 81st minute.
Osamah, who started Yemen’s fightback, scored the fifth goal four minutes later while Hamzah Mohammed Sabah completed the win in added time.
Yemen will take on Bangladesh in their next game on Friday and will have a great chance of qualifying for the tournament proper.
The United Arab Emirates were not present at the Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha for their AFC U-16 Championship 2018 Group E qualifying match against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Article 7.1.2 of the AFC U-16 Championship 2018 Competition regulations states: 'Any Member Association that does not report for a match shall be considered to have withdrawn from the Competition after its commencement.'
The matter will now be referred to the relevant AFC Committees for consideration.
Source: the-afc.com