Afif shines again as Qatar beat Tajikistan to move into Asian Cup knockouts

AL KHOR, Qatar : 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.

Tajikistan dominated the opening stages 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.