Almoez Ali settled a spellbinding, see-saw semi-final, and Qatar joined Jordan in the Asian Cup showpiece.
Twenty-four hours after Hussein Ammouta’s history makers churned out another chapter in their remarkable run in Doha, the hosts and holders followed suit.
On Wednesday night, at an expectant Al Thumama Stadium, Qatar went toe-to-toe with Iran. They were behind and then in front, and then pegged back again, before Ali landed the knockout blow.
Qatar survived the three-time winners, Asia’s second-ranked side, a dodgy VAR decision and even Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s shot off the upright in the 13th minute of additional time to bound through, prevailing 3-2.
By then, Iran had been reduced to 10 men, in keeping with a breathless tie. But Qatar face Jordan on Saturday, for all the marbles. However, after this, will they have anything left to give?
Iran opened the scoring on four minutes, and the tone was set. Qatar failed to deal with a long throw from the right, the ball looped up, and Sardar Azmoun contorted to direct an overhead kick past opposition goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.
A beautiful bit of improvisation, it snapped Azmoun’s three-match drought; the longest the Roma striker had gone in the Asian Cup without scoring.
It didn’t take Qatar too long to restore parity. On 17 minutes, Akram Afif chested down from a ball over the top, turned back towards his own goal, and rolled an inviting pass to the edge of the Iran penalty area.
If Jassem Gaber did not exactly drill home the ball, he would not have cared; his scuffed shot deflected off Saeid Ezatolahi and up over Alireza Beiranvand in the Iran goal to nestle in the net.
Then, right before half-time, Qatar completed the turnaround. Ahmed Fatehi crunched into a tackle to win back possession, the ball arrived at Afif’s feet, and the pristine playmaker did the rest.
Picking up play on the left, Afif drove inside the Iran box, created a smidgen of space, and unleashed an unstoppable effort across the despairing Beiranvand.
As bedlam broke out all around him, Afif took off down the touchline and disappeared in the mob of maroon who had leapt from the Qatar bench. It marked Afif’s fifth goal this tournament, bettered only by Iraq’s Aymen Hussein, with six.
Yet, this time, Iran bounced back. Minutes into the second half, Ezatolahi cannoned a shot off Fatehi’s raised hand inside the area and, although at first the referee did not signal a penalty, he consulted VAR.
Decision reversed – still, replays showed Fatehi was harshly punished – Jahanbakhsh kept his cool from 12 yards. Irrespective of Qatar’s protests, Iran were level.
To their credit, Qatar responded immediately. Yusuf Abdurisag wrestled free and stung Beiranvand’s palms. From the resulting corner, Shojae Khalilzadeh cleared Pedro’s header from under his own crossbar.
At the other end, Qatar needed to show similar resilience. It took both Lucas Mendes and Boualem Khoukhi to prevent Taremi and Azmoun from putting Iran back in front.
Ultimately, it was the hosts who regained the initiative.
Abdulaziz Hatem’s wild shot fizzed into the path of Ali, who somehow controlled it and swept a sublime finish inside the far post.
Way off form since his goal in the tournament opener, the 2019 Golden Boot winner had risen to the occasion right when his team needed him.
Iran’s hopes were all but extinguished. Not long into an achingly-long period of injury-time, Khalilzadeh clattered into Afif and, after another trip to the pitchside screen, the official upgraded his yellow card to red.
And Qatar held on. Right at the death, Jahanbakhsh’s low shot clattered off the post, before Barsham parried a ricochet that appeared destined for the net.
The defending champions clung for now to their trophy, with only Jordan between them and the tournament’s first back-to-back title success in two decades. If the past two nights of Asian Cup action are anything to go by, Saturday should make for some viewing.
How to help or find other cats to adopt
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Mountain%20Boy
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Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
'Champions'
Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
