Muhammadjon Mirahmadov scored in the fifth minute of added time as Tajikistan amazingly held Saudi Arabia to a 5-5 draw in their concluding AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia Group A tie at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Central Asian side refused to concede defeat despite trailing throughout the match but the point was not enough for them to finish top with Saudi Arabia winning the group on goal difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hosts will face China PR in the quarter-finals while Tajikistan will play Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan comfortably clinched the Group B top spot after seeing off Indonesia 3-1 in their Group B tie at the King Abdullah Sports City Pitch A on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia threatened through Nawaf Al Huwiri as early as the second minute from a set-piece situation with Tajikistan responding two minutes later when Asadbek Makhtumov struck the crossbar from the right side of the box after being set up by Komiljon Sharipov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tajikistan continued to push forward and created another opportunity in the ninth minute when Parviz Bobonazarov saw his shot blocked before Munavar Anvarzod fired over the bar from inside the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Central Asian side were made to pay for the missed chances four minutes later after Yahya Saeed audaciously lobbed the ball from a tight angle on the left flank, sending the ball over goalkeeper Abubakr Rahmonqulov and into the top right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ali Al Shamrani then etched his name on the scoresheet with a cool finish from a well-worked move after being teed up by Abdullah Al Dawsari in the 18th minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An undaunted Tajikistan forced their way back into the tie in the 27th minute after their high press allowed Anvarzod to intercept Ahmad Ishak\u2019s back-pass, with the midfielder then calmly finishing past goalkeeper Abdullah Al Mas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia took just six minutes to restore their two-goal lead after Abdullah Al Dawsari won a penalty, with Ali Al Shamrani converting into the bottom left corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The West Asian side scored their fourth in the 39th minute, with Zaid Al Buri finishing Ahmad Ishak’s assist with a shot from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Tajikistan refused to back down and narrowed the deficit in the 44th minute when Asadbek Makhtumov latched onto Parviz Sanginov\u2019s deft through pass before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tajikistan emerged from the break with renewed urgency and needed just four minutes to score their third with Parviz Sanginov delivering a free-kick into the area, with Musaed Al Shammari blocking Parviz Bobonazarov\u2019s effort only for Anvarzod to turn the ball home from close range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Saudi Arabia restored their two-goal advantage in the 54th minute when Faisal Bayomi headed home from close range after Nawaf Al Huwiri flicked on Tameem Siraj\u2019s free-kick delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tajikistan refused to give up and responded with their fourth in the 83rd minute with Sanginov sending a powerful shot from inside the box into the bottom right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boosted by the goal and with Saudi Arabia struggling to hold them off, Mirahmadov struck a cracker from distance in the fifth minute of stoppage time to force the sensational draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Japan started brightly and almost took the lead in the third minute with Eito Takaki firing over the bar from inside the box from Ryoma Tsuneyoshi\u2019s cross, before coming close again in the sixth minute as Tsuneyoshi headed wide from Rekuto Shiraogawa\u2019s cross. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indonesia struggled to deal with Japan\u2019s movement in the final third, with Takaki seeing another effort blocked in the 14th minute before Takeshi Wada headed over from close range following a corner a minute later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan then saw Tsuneyoshi\u2019s curling long-range effort parried away by goalkeeper Mike Rajasa Hoppenbrouwers in the 24th minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The breakthrough finally arrived four minutes later when Shiraogawa delivered a cross into the box for Ryoma Tsuneyoshi to convert from close range into the bottom right corner past a rooted Hoppenbrouwers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hoppenbrouwers was kept on his toes, denying Takaki with an outstretched leg in the 32nd minute before the Kashima Antlers Youth forward drove the ball agonisingly wide of the left post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan almost doubled their advantage in the 47th minute with Kazato Kimura firing narrowly wide from the centre of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indonesia attempted to respond on the counter-attack but struggled to break through Japan\u2019s organised defence, with the four-time champions doubling their advantage just before the hour-mark with Wada pouncing on the rebound after Hoppenbrouwers had spilled Kazato Kimura\u2019s initial shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Southeast Asian side, however, reduced the deficit in the 70th minute with Peres Tjoe curling his free-kick delivery from an acute angle over Japan goalkeeper Kosei Oshita and into the top left corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Japan restored their two-goal cushion a minute later with Rekuto Shiraogawa surging into the box before picking out an advancing Arata Okamoto at the far post to secure the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China saved their best for last as a 2-0 win against Qatar saw them advancing to the quarter-finals. The victory saw China finishing second in Group B ahead of Qatar and Indonesia on the head-to-head goals scored as they also booked their ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the group still wide open, both sides went into the tie needing victory, with Qatar on three points and China with none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The East Asian side settled the quicker with Zhao Songyuan proving to be a menace for Qatar in the opening minutes with four attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Qatar struggling to contain their pressing, China deservedly went ahead in the 14th minute, He Sifan finishing Wan Xiang’s assist by powering a shot from the left side into the top right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needing goals to boost their hopes, China continued to dictate terms but failed to find a second while Qatar’s first attempt on target came in the 37th minute through Dhiaeddine Larbi, which Qin Ziniu comfortably fielded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qatar adopted a more aggressive approach after the break but China continued to hold the upperhand as they went in search of a second goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After both sides exchanged opportunities several times, China finally found their second in the 71st minute, with Wan Xiang again the provider as his set-piece was headed home by Zhang Bolin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qatar were left shell-shocked by the second goal and were unable to muster a response as China held on to confirm their quarter-final spot and ticket to the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thailand fought back from two goals down to force a 2-2 stalemate with Myanmar in their concluding Group A tie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both were playing for pride after having already been eliminated with the attacking advantage in Thailand’s favour in the opening minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Myanmar were content to sit back but struck against the run of play in the 19th minute when Sai Myat Min capitalised on Thailand’s failure to clear the ball to slot home from just outside the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The midfielder doubled Myanmar’s joy three minutes later, this time hitting home from close range after Myat Min Thu had turned a cross into his path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A stung Thailand looked to respond and they laid siege on the Myanmar goalmouth with Pichaya Chaiwarangkun’s shot from outside the box saved by Myanmar custodian Htet Wai Yan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Thailand having upped their tempo, Myanmar had to defend deep but they could only hold out till the 30th minute, with Pakorn Suttiprapa catching Htet off-guard with his shot from an acute angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both sides then had chances but with neither able to convert, Myanmar went into the break with a lead to protect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The onus was on Thailand to find their way back into the tie but they had to wait till the 60th minute for a chance, with Boonyakorn Pachongsin’s shot from the right side of the box comfortably saved by the Myanmar custodian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pichaya should have done better with his effort two minutes later but the forward skied the ball as Thailand grew increasingly desperate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throwing caution to the wind, Thailand increased their intensity and were finally rewarded in the 75th minute when they capitalised on indecision in the Myanmar defence to draw level through David Gabert’s shot from just outside the box as the teams ended their respective campaigns with a stalemate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Muhammadjon Mirahmadov scored in the fifth minute of added time as Tajikistan amazingly held Saudi Arabia to a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[63],"class_list":["post-12814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t