Asian Cup: Qatar stun Japan 3-1 in final as World Cup 2022 hosts lift historic first title in Abu Dhabi
- Japan had never lost in its previous four finals but were behind for most of game after Almoez Ali’s overhead kick
- Felix Sanchez’s side won all seven games in UAE to win first Asian Cup
The Sudan-born striker Ali scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick after just 12 minutes before Abdelaziz Hatim curled in a superb second and Akram Afif converted a VAR-assisted penalty to give the 2022 World Cup hosts a famous victory in Abu Dhabi.
Qatar survived a scare at 2-0 when Takumi Minamino pulled one back on 69 minutes, only for Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov to award the Maroons a penalty on review for a handball by Japan captain Maya Yoshida.
Ali became the first player to score nine goals at a single Asian Cup after only being cleared to play just hours before kick-off following a UAE protest over his eligibility.
The Qataris had been pelted with plastic bottles and shoes during the 4-0 semi-final thrashing of hosts United Arab Emirates over the Gulf blockade of the tiny, energy-rich state.
Emirati football officials subsequently lodged a formal protest over the eligibility of Ali and Iraqi-born defender Bassam Al-Rawi, which has been thrown out by the Asian Football Confederation.
Qatar had never before gone beyond the Asian Cup quarter-finals but the squad scored 16 unanswered goals coming into the final and kept a record six clean sheets.
