The UAE received a scare on the way to qualifying to the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championships after having to come from behind to beat Vietnam 3-2 at Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha. As group winners, the UAE will now face Iraq on Saturday at the same venue.
Having beaten Australia and drawn with Jordan, the UAE started the match as favourites to beat Group D’s weakest team, but the reality proved different. An inspired team with nothing to lose took the game to Abdullah Misfir’s men, who endured a first half to forget.
Ahmed Barman was injured in the seventh minutes and was replaced by Mohammed Surour, and on 19 minutes an injury to Salim Ali forced the introduction of team captain Abdullah Ali, who had initially been rested from the start.
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Things got worse four minutes later when Vietnam were awarded a penalty for handball, and Nguyen Cong Phoung mad no mistake from the spot. The injury toll mounted when the injured Saif Rashid was substituted by Khalfan Mubarak.
Ten minutes into the second half, Ahmed Al Attas almost equalised with a back-heeled effort but the majority of the UAE’s efforts were speculative shots as Vietnam looked the more dangerous team on the break.
The UAE were gifted an equaliser on 64 minutes when Pham Hoang Lam inexplicably headed past his own goalkeeper when attempting to clear a cross, but parity lasted only four minutes as Nguyen Tuan Anh scored a superb second for Vietnam.
The UAE responded on 73 minutes when Mohammed Al Akberi, one of the team’s outstanding players in Qatar, chipped the ball over the goalkeeper from over 30 yards.
Four minutes later the UAE took the lead for the first time when Luong Xuan Truong handled on his goal line resulting in penalty and a red card. Al Attas scored from the spot kick.
Jordan’s 0-0 draw with Australia saw them finish runners-up behind the UAE. They next face South Korea in their quarter-final on Saturday.
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