Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Muscat: Striker Marwan Al Ajeeli’s fourth goal of the campaign saw quarter-final bound Iraq complete the only 100% record in the group stage of the AFC U-22 Championship after the Group D winners edged out China 1-0 at Royal Oman Police Stadium on Thursday.
With Japan coach Makoto Teguramori in the stands ahead of Monday’s quarter-final with Iraq, Al Ajeeli’s 14th minute penalty earned Hakeem Shakir’s 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup semi-finalists a third win of the campaign.
Both sides had entered the final round of fixtures with their destiny’s already confirmed with Iraq guaranteed to top the table following wins over Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, while China’s campaign had been prematurely ended following defeats by the same opposition.
“We always wanted to get the perfect score in the tournament and get all nine points to give the players confidence because we were not seen as contenders before the tournament. We had the correct strategy as we wanted to win this match with the least amount of effort considering the changes in the squad,” said Iraq coach Shakir, who now has just under three days to prepare his side for Iraq’s meeting with Japan at Seeb Sports Complex on Monday.
“We are the only team building for the future and competing for the title at the same time. We wanted to rest some players and the players who played today didn’t play in the WAFF Championship. We achieved everything we wanted to from this match and we enter the quarter-finals as a champion as we have nine points.
“The match with Japan is an early final for the tournament. Japan did not play well in some of their matches, but the win today is an alert for the other teams. I don’t know who will win, but I will use new cards and try to win. We must prepare well for Japan as they are a strong team.”
Despite coach Shakir making seven changes to his side having fielded an unchanged line-up for the opening wins over Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan, Iraq took the lead after just 14 minutes as Al Ajeeli sent China goalkeeper Fang Jingqi the wrong way from the penalty spot.
China were, though, almost level after 27 minutes as Wu Xinghan’s shot from inside the area wrong-footed Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan only to come back off the foot of the post.
Iraq also had their chances to increase their lead at the end of the first half as first Ali Mshari flashed a shot wide with Fang rooted to the spot before Basim Hassoon followed suit in stoppage time.
Al Ajeeli did have the ball in the back of the net five minutes into the second half, but the whistle had already sounded for offside long before the striker rounded Fang and rolled the ball into the empty net.
The striker then headed over from Mohammed Arebat’s cross just before the hour mark, although the miss did not prove costly as Iraq comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to seal victory with China struggling in the final third.
“Unfortunately we lost the three matches in the group stage, but during the group stage we have gained a lot of experience in international tournaments and in international matches,” said China coach Fu Bo.
“We can see we have a lot of opportunities, but the player’s ability to score has not been good. But this is good for our preparation for future tournaments and future matches.”