Group E of the
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...
took place from 8 to 17 January 2019. The group consisted of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. The top two teams, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, advanced to the round of 16.
However, third-placed Lebanon missed out qualification to the knockout stage by fair play points to
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
Saudi Arabia were the only former champions in the group, having won three Asian Cup titles in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
,
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
and
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
.
Teams
;Notes
Standings
In the
round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
:
* The winners of Group E, Qatar, advanced to play the runners-up of
Group D,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
.
* The runners-up of Group E, Saudi Arabia, advanced to play the winners of
Group F,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Matches
All times listed are
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(
UTC+4
UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+04:00. This time is used in:
As standard time (year-round)
''Principal cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Baku, ...
).
Saudi Arabia vs North Korea
The first chance of the game came in the 13th minute through
Abdulaziz Al-Bishi’s left-footed strike which just missed the target. In the 28th minute,
Hattan Bahebri
Hattan Sultan Ahmed Bahebri ( ar, هتان سلطان أحمد باهبري; born 16 July 1992) is a Saudi Arabian footballer. He plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for Al-Shabab. In May 2018, he was named to the Saudi Arabia's prelimi ...
dribbled past
Ri Il-jin and sent a curler from the left to give Saudi Arabia the lead.
Housain Al-Mogahwi’s free kick from just outside the box sailed into the box and
Mohammed Al-Fatil diverted it into the net with a back heel to double Saudi Arabia’s advantage. Just a minute before the break,
Han Kwang-song
Han Kwang-song (; born 11 September 1998) is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward. He last played for Al Duhail in the Qatar Stars League, who were forced to terminate his contract in 2021 due to UN sanctions agains ...
received a second yellow card for a tackle on Al-Mogahwi. North Korea were reduced to 10 men but they came close to scoring in the 64th minute through captain
Jong Il-gwan
Jong Il-gwan (Hangul: 정일관, Hancha: 鄭日冠, born 30 October 1992) is a North Korean football striker who plays as a striker for club Rimyongsu in the DPR Korea Premier Football League and the North Korea national team.
Club care ...
. However, the Saudi defenders regrouped to deny him. Moments later, Saudi Arabia had a missed opportunity, when
Fahad Al-Muwallad
Fahad Mosaed al-Muwallad ( ar, فهد المولد, born 14 September 1994) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Al-Shabab.
He started his professional career with Al-Ittihad when he was only 16 year ...
side-stepped defender
Kim Chol-bom and goalkeeper
but his shot flew wide. In the 70th minute,
Salem Al-Dawsari
Salem Mohammed Shafi Al-Dawsari ( ar, سالم محمد شافي الدوسري; born 19 August 1991) is a Saudi Arabian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Saudi Professional League club Al ...
was left unmarked and the Saudi captain made no mistake from the centre of the box to make it 3–0. In the 87th minute, defender
Kim Song-gi failed to clear
Hamdan Al-Shamrani’s cross into the box and Al-Muwallad slammed the ball into the back of the net to seal Saudi Arabia’s first opening AFC Asian Cup match win since they emerged champions in 1996.
Qatar vs Lebanon
![Qatar v Lebanon, 9 January 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Qatar_v_Lebanon%2C_9_January_2019.jpg)
In the 37th minute,
Ali Hamam
Ali Nizar Hamam ( ar, علي نزار حمام; born 25 August 1986) is a Lebanese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), right-back for club Nejmeh SC, Nejmeh, whom he Captain (association ...
raced off to celebrate with his teammates after slotting
Hassan Maatouk
Hassan Ali Maatouk ( ar, حسن علي معتوق, ; born 10 August 1987) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Ansar and captains the Lebanon national team. Known for his pace and technical skills, Maa ...
's corner into the Qatari goal, only for the referee to controversially blow the whistle for a foul on
Tarek Salman. Maatouk pulled the trigger on an effort of his own just before half-time, but his scissor kick flew high over the bar. Two minutes after the hour mark, 2018 AFC Player of the Year
Abdelkarim Hassan
Abdelkarim Hassan Al Haj Fadlalla ( ar, عبد الكريم حسن; born 28 August 1993) is a Qatari professional association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for Kuwaiti Premier League club Al-Jahra SC, Al-Jahra and the Qatar nation ...
was introduced from the bench for
Abdulkarim Al-Ali and within three minutes, the Qataris took the lead from
Bassam Al-Rawi
Bassam Hisham Ali Al-Rawi ( ar, بسام هشام الراوي; born 16 December 1997) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a defender for Al-Duhail and the Qatar national football team.
Personal life
Born in Iraq, Bassam was natu ...
's strike from a free kick. The defender sent a dipping, curling right-footed effort over the wall and beyond the outstretched hand of
Mehdi Khalil
Mehdi Salim Khalil ( ar, مهدي سليم خليل, ; born 19 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Ahed and the Lebanon national team. Khalil is known as "the Mountain" () because of his height.
K ...
. Qatar added a second with 11 minutes remaining. Hassan's driving run created space for
Akram Afif
Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif Al Yafei ( ar, أكرم عفيف; born 18 November 1996) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Early in his career, he was ...
and, when the winger received the ball, his centre found
Abdulaziz Hatem
Abdulaziz Hatem Mohammed Abdullah ( ar, عبد العزيز حاتم; born 28 October 1990) is a Qatari professional footballer of Sudanese descent who plays as a midfielder for Al Rayyan and the Qatar national football team.
Club career
Hatem ...
, whose shot was saved by Khalil. But
Almoez Ali
Almoez Ali Zainalabedeen Mohamed Abdulla ( ar, المعز علي زين العابدين محمد عبد الله; born 19 August 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar Stars League side Al-Duhail, whom he captains ...
was on hand to roll the ball into the empty net to ensure a winning start to the campaign for Qatar.
Lebanon vs Saudi Arabia
![Lebanese fans 20191201 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Lebanese_fans_20191201_01.jpg)
Saudi Arabia found their breakthrough in the 12th minute when they latched onto a defensive mistake. Lebanon’s
Joan Oumari
Joan Noureddine Oumari (, ; born 19 August 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for the Lebanon national team.
After playing for eight seasons in Germany, between the fifth and second division, Oumari moved to Turkish ...
’s back pass deflected off teammate
Alexander Michel Melki
Robert Alexander Robert Michel Melki ( ar, روبير الكساندر روبير ميشيل ملكي, ; born 14 November 1992), known as Alexander Michel Melki,) in Arabic. is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Swedish club ...
’s left boot. The ball landed near Saudi Arabia’s
Fahad Al-Muwallad
Fahad Mosaed al-Muwallad ( ar, فهد المولد, born 14 September 1994) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Al-Shabab.
He started his professional career with Al-Ittihad when he was only 16 year ...
, who half-volleyed home from close range. Oumari failed to keep his header down in the 16th minute, while
Felix Michel Melki
George Felix Robert Michel Melki ( ar, جورج فيليكس روبير ميشيل ملكي, ; born 23 July 1994), known as Felix Michel Melki,) in Arabic. is a professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for club Ahed and ...
just missed
Hassan Maatouk
Hassan Ali Maatouk ( ar, حسن علي معتوق, ; born 10 August 1987) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Ansar and captains the Lebanon national team. Known for his pace and technical skills, Maa ...
’s free kick eight minutes later. After the break,
Hattan Bahebri
Hattan Sultan Ahmed Bahebri ( ar, هتان سلطان أحمد باهبري; born 16 July 1992) is a Saudi Arabian footballer. He plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for Al-Shabab. In May 2018, he was named to the Saudi Arabia's prelimi ...
took a chance from almost 30 yards out which forced a save from goalkeeper
Mehdi Khalil
Mehdi Salim Khalil ( ar, مهدي سليم خليل, ; born 19 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Ahed and the Lebanon national team. Khalil is known as "the Mountain" () because of his height.
K ...
. Bahebri made an assist in the 67th minute, when his cross into the box found
Housain Al-Mogahwi, who made it 2–0. This win earned Saudi Arabia a ticket to the round of sixteen for the first time since the
2007 edition, in which Saudi Arabia finished runners-up.
North Korea vs Qatar
Qatar were in front in the ninth minute when
Akram Afif
Akram Hassan Afif Yahya Afif Al Yafei ( ar, أكرم عفيف; born 18 November 1996) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Early in his career, he was ...
glided past
Sim Hyon-jin
Sim Hyon-jin ( ko, 심현진 ; born 1 January 1991) is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a left back and left midfielder.
International career
International goals
:''Scores and results list North Korea's goal tally first.''
...
before delivering a low cross to
Almoez Ali
Almoez Ali Zainalabedeen Mohamed Abdulla ( ar, المعز علي زين العابدين محمد عبد الله; born 19 August 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar Stars League side Al-Duhail, whom he captains ...
, who struck past
. Qatar doubled their lead two minutes later, when
Abdelkarim Hassan
Abdelkarim Hassan Al Haj Fadlalla ( ar, عبد الكريم حسن; born 28 August 1993) is a Qatari professional association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for Kuwaiti Premier League club Al-Jahra SC, Al-Jahra and the Qatar nation ...
’s ball found
Hassan Al-Haydos
Hassan Khalid Hassan Al-Haydos ( ar, حسن خالد حسن الهيدوس; born 11 December 1990) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a forward for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Club career
Al- ...
, whose low centre was struck in the goal from close range by Ali.
Ri Un-chol tried from outside the area, but his drive narrowly failed to find the top corner. With just two minutes remaining in the first half, Afif lifted the ball high over the advancing Myong-guk and
Boualem Khoukhi headed in from close range. Ali completed his hat-trick 10 minutes into the second half with a finish from Afif’s through ball. Five minutes later, Afif led a counter-attack before rolling the ball through to Ali, who smashed his shot across Myong-guk and inside the far post. Ali turned provider in the 68th minute when his pass allowed Hassan to storm through the North Korean defence and slot home Qatar’s sixth. The East Asian side’s misery was compounded in the last minute when
Jong Il-gwan
Jong Il-gwan (Hangul: 정일관, Hancha: 鄭日冠, born 30 October 1992) is a North Korean football striker who plays as a striker for club Rimyongsu in the DPR Korea Premier Football League and the North Korea national team.
Club care ...
was shown a second yellow card.
It was North Korea’s heaviest ever defeat at the Asian Cup, surpassing their previous 0–4 defeat to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
in their opening 2019 Asian Cup match. Qatar’s win enabled them to progress to the knockout stages for the first time since the
2011 edition that they hosted. Controversy rose around the empty stadium as very few fans were allowed to enter.
Saudi Arabia vs Qatar
Mohammed Al-Owais parried away
Boualem Khoukhi's drive on 16 minutes in the first genuine threat to either goal.
Housain Al-Mogahwi shot over the bar for Saudi Arabia following
Yahya Al-Shehri
Yahya Sulaiman Ali al-Shehri ( ar, يحيى سليمان علي الشهري; born 26 June 1990) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Al-Raed and the Saudi Arabia national team.
He was promoted from the you ...
's probing run and cross, before
Fahad Al-Muwallad
Fahad Mosaed al-Muwallad ( ar, فهد المولد, born 14 September 1994) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Al-Shabab.
He started his professional career with Al-Ittihad when he was only 16 year ...
struck an upright with Qatar goalkeeper
Saad Al-Sheeb beaten.
Hassan Al-Haydos
Hassan Khalid Hassan Al-Haydos ( ar, حسن خالد حسن الهيدوس; born 11 December 1990) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a forward for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Qatar national team.
Club career
Al- ...
' 42nd minute penalty was saved by Al-Owais. However, minutes later,
Abdulaziz Hatem
Abdulaziz Hatem Mohammed Abdullah ( ar, عبد العزيز حاتم; born 28 October 1990) is a Qatari professional footballer of Sudanese descent who plays as a midfielder for Al Rayyan and the Qatar national football team.
Club career
Hatem ...
's through ball found
Almoez Ali
Almoez Ali Zainalabedeen Mohamed Abdulla ( ar, المعز علي زين العابدين محمد عبد الله; born 19 August 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar Stars League side Al-Duhail, whom he captains ...
who converted to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time. Within five minutes of the restart
Hattan Bahebri
Hattan Sultan Ahmed Bahebri ( ar, هتان سلطان أحمد باهبري; born 16 July 1992) is a Saudi Arabian footballer. He plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for Al-Shabab. In May 2018, he was named to the Saudi Arabia's prelimi ...
forced Al-Sheeb into a save. Bahebri's effort from 15 yards fizzed narrowly over the bar on 73 minutes. Qatar extended their lead with 10 minutes remaining, when Ali leaped to thump home a header from Hatem's corner. It proved to be the final genuine goalmouth action as Qatar held on to seal another three points.
The match was dubbed the "Blockade Derby", in reference to the
diplomatic disputes between the two nations. However, there was no on-field incidents and the match ended in a friendly atmosphere.
Lebanon vs North Korea
Pak Kwang-ryong
Pak Kwang-Ryong (Hangul: 박광룡; born 27 September 1992) is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Club career
Born in Pyongyang, Pak originally played for Kigwanch'a SC of Sinŭiju before joining FC Wil 1900 ...
converted his free kick in the ninth minute to give North Korea an early advantage. However, Lebanon levelled the score just before the half hour mark when
Hassan Maatouk
Hassan Ali Maatouk ( ar, حسن علي معتوق, ; born 10 August 1987) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Ansar and captains the Lebanon national team. Known for his pace and technical skills, Maa ...
dribbled down the left before laying off for
Felix Michel Melki
George Felix Robert Michel Melki ( ar, جورج فيليكس روبير ميشيل ملكي, ; born 23 July 1994), known as Felix Michel Melki,) in Arabic. is a professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for club Ahed and ...
, who smashed the ball into the back of the net.
Hilal El-Helwe
Hilal Bassam El-Helwe ( ar, هلال بسام الحلوة, ; born 24 November 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Lebanon national team. A versatile forward, he can play both centrally and as a winger on either ...
’s effort was cleared off the line in the 32nd minute. Felix came close to scoring his second in the 57th minute but angled his header across the bar. In the 65th minute,
Mohamad Haidar
Mohamad Faouzi Haidar ( ar, محمد فوزي حيدر, ; born 8 November 1989) is a Lebanese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger or Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for cl ...
’s cross found El-Helwe who turned to score from close range. North Korea conceded a penalty after
Rabih Ataya
Rabih Mohammad Ataya ( ar, ربیع محمد عطایا, ; born 16 July 1989) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a right winger for club Ahed and the Lebanon national team.
Starting his career at Tadamon Sour in 2006, Ataya ...
was brought down in the danger area. Maatouk converted the spot-kick in the 80th minute, sending goalkeeper
the wrong way, with a fourth coming in the eighth minute of added time through El-Helwe as Lebanon won their first ever Asian Cup match. However, they were edged by Vietnam in the third-place ranking on fair-play points due to receiving more yellow cards and were eliminated from the tournament. This loss extended North Korea's winless streak, with their last win dating back to their fourth place finish in the
1980 edition.
Discipline
Fair play points were used as tiebreakers if the head-to-head and overall records of teams were tied (and if a
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
was not applicable as a tiebreaker). These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:
*yellow card = 1 point
*red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points
*direct red card = 3 points
*yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:AFC Asian Cup
Group E
Group E
2018–19 in Saudi Arabian football
2019 in North Korean football
2018–19 in Qatari football