The Chinese and Tajikistan national teams tied without goals today, Saturday, in the first round of the group stage in the Asian Football Cup, after the referee canceled a goal for the Chinese national team in a controversial decision.
The match, which was held at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha, was balanced and largely calm, with Tajikistan having greater control over the ball, especially until the 65th minute.
The Tajikistan national team, which is competing in the Asian Cup for the first time, tried to score the first goal in its tournament, especially in the first half, but most of its players’ shots came far from China’s goal.
Strong physical interventions dominated the first half of the match, as Saudi referee Mohammed Al-Huwaish stopped the match on more than one occasion to treat the players of both teams.
Things turned in China’s favor in the last third of an hour of the match, when they increased the pressure, trying to score a goal that would snatch the three points.
Substitute Zhou Jin shot a powerful ball from outside the penalty area in the 78th minute, but the Tajikistan goalkeeper brilliantly blocked it and sent it away for a corner kick.
The Chinese players thought they had scored the first goal in the 81st minute, after a corner kick that Zhou Shanxi met with a powerful header, sending the ball into the net.
But the video technology referees asked the arena referee to review the goal, and the Saudi referee decided to cancel it due to the presence of an offside case on the Chinese defender while shooting the ball.
Look |
After returning to VAR, the referee cancels a goal for the Chinese national team against Tajikistan #ComeAsia | #AsiaCup2023 #Qatar2023 | #AsianCup2023#Asia_Cup_Al-Kass_Channels#See_the_cup pic.twitter.com/J4wPUAIf5w– Al Kass Channels (@AlkassTVSports) January 13, 2024
The decision surprised the Chinese players and their fans, but the referee ruled offside based on the interference of one of the Chinese players with the Tajikistan defender, which prevented him from trying to clear the ball heading to the goal.
The draw awarded a point to each team, which ensured Qatar took top spot in Group A after the end of the first round, after its victory over Lebanon 3-0 yesterday, Friday, at the opening of the tournament.
The Qatar national team leads the group standings alone with 3 points, followed by the Chinese and Tajikistan national teams with a point each, and the Lebanon national team is at the bottom of the group standings without a score.
