Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hamilton: Qatar were left to rue missed opportunities as Joao Rodriguez’s first half goal helped Colombia to a 1-0 win in an entertaining FIFA U-20 World Cup Group C encounter on Sunday.
Despite battling valiantly in the second period, Asia’s reigning U-19 champions ultimately succumbed to a neat finish from striker Rodriguez who spent the tail end of last season on loan from Chelsea at Portuguese side Vitoria.
“My players performed at a high level,” Qatar coach Felix Sanchez told fifa.com.
“They tried hard and were up against a powerful team, one of the strongest at the event. We will analyse our strengths and weaknesses.
“We have [at least] two more games still to go and we will try to show the best of our abilities. We know that this is a great tournament with some very strong opponents, but with the attitude we displayed today, I'm sure we'll come away with something. We're not going to give in.”
Following a cautious start at the Waikato Stadium, it was the South Americans who drew first blood, Santos Borre’s pass finding the highly rated Rodriguez who slotted the ball past Qatar goalkeeper Yousof Hassan with 24 minutes on the clock.
Rodriguez was duly denied by Hassan before the break as Colombia looked to stamp their authority on a group that also includes Portugal and Senegal.
It was, however, a resurgent Qatar that reemerged for the second half.
LASK Linz forward Jassim Al Jalabi came close to drawing his side level when he fired a shot into the side-netting, before 2014 AFC U-19 Championship MVP Ahmed Al Sadi saw his shot saved by Colombia custodian Alvaro Montero.
Akram Afif, scorer of the winning goal that handed Qatar their U-19 crown last year in Myanmar, then tried his luck from range, before Sultan Alkuwari's miscued shot in the closing stages saw Qatar’s hopes of earning anything from the game disappear.
In the day's other Group C game, Portugal went to the top of the table after beating Senegal 3-0 thanks to goals from Gelson Martins, Andre Silva and Nuno Santos.
Qatar will now look to bounce back against Portugal on Wednesday, while Colombia can seal a spot in the Round of 16 when they meet Senegal on the same day.
Photo: FIFA / Getty Images