Asian Cup Semi Final Match: 120th-Minute Winner Ends Filipino Run as Hosts Reach Final

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

Asian Cup Semi Final Match: Philippines v UAE

120th-Minute Winner Ends Filipino Run as Hosts Reach Final

January 26th, 2020

Philippines 2 UAE 2 (2-3 after extra time)

 

The United Arab Emirates needed a last-minute extra time winner to seal their place in the Asian Cup Final, as the Philippines took the hosts almost to another penalty shootout.

 

The Philippines made the unfortunate switch of Ángel Guirado up front, bringing in the hero of their Quarter Final win in Daisuke Sato. The hosts however did not make any changes to their line-up from their Quarter Final win over Kuwait.

 

The UAE attacked from the outset, with Ismail Al Hammadi setting up a one-on-one battle between Neil Etheridge and Ahmed Khalil. The goalkeeper came out on top, eventually.

 

Al Hammadi then brought Etheridge’s deft saving into play with a shot from the right of the 18-yard box. From the corner, Abdalla Ramadan was found alone in the box but his header flew wide of the target.

 

Khalil had a great chance to score, only for Etheridge to run out and thwart the shot. The ball fell to Omar Abdulrahman, but the shot was blocked. His shot from the resulting corner was also blocked by two defenders.

 

Abdulrahman then set up Khalil, who had two shots one after the other, only for the latter to miss to the right of goal.

 

Etheridge then parried away Abdulrahman’s next attempt when he caught onto a long ball running from the right wing.

 

Finally, in the 35th minute, Abdulrahman was found again by a through ball. This time, though, he was guided out to the right wing. This time, however, his cross found Khalil streaking into the box and the pure power was enough to ruffle the back of the net.

 

Al Hammadi thought he had a goal minutes later, only to be deemed offside.

 

After the break, Sato got onto an aerial challenge in the box, with the ball falling to Patrick Reichelt. His shot, however, went straight to Khalid Eisa.

 

After Carli de Murga was injured in a challenge, the Philippines immediately shifted to a back three. The results were immediate as Sato caught a wonderful shot, hitting the inside of the left-hand post and into goal.

 

With the game all-square, the Philippines worked the ball effectively around the park. However, Ahmed Mubarak had the best chance for the UAE with ten minutes to play, only to have the shot stopped.

 

Down the other end, Martin Steuble had a shot, but sent it straight to Eisa.

 

Abdulrahman then countered and shot, hitting the bar. The ball rebounded towards the left wing, where Yousif Jaber was. He made no mistake with the open goal, giving the hosts the winner.

 

Or so it seemed. Sato worked down the right wing from the kick-off, then crossed into Iain Ramsay, whose header could not be stopped by Eisa.

 

With the match going into extra time, there was hardly any way to separate the two teams, except that the UAE had nine more shots.

 

Not much happened in the first period of extra time, as the Filipino defence held firm. Khalil managed to have a shot from an unlikely opportunity in the second period, only to miss the mark.

 

Emirates’ substitute Jassim Salman nearly had a goal, only to have it blocked. He then set up Abdulrahman right at the death, and the talisman made no mistake, this time winning the match for the hosts.

 

It was a famous victory for the Emirates, seeing off the dark horse in the Philippines. The losers can hold their heads high and will no doubt use their momentum in matches later in the year.

 

The UAE will now play South Korea in the Asian Cup Final.

 

Important aspects of the match:

Philippines’ best: Sato with his goal that first levelled the match and a hefty eight tackles out of nine attempts, as well as an assist; Etheridge with nine saves in goal; Ramsay with his goal.

Justin Baas, before being injured and substituted, had the most passes and equal most dribbles for his team.

John-Patrick Strauß with equal most dribbles for his team before taking on the mantle of central defence.

Álvaro Silva with three key intercepts and a clearance.

 

UAE best: Mohamad Al Attas with most passes for the match; Abdulrahman with his goal and assist; Jaber with his goal; Ahmed Mubarak with most dribbles for the match.

Mohamed Saleh with the most tackles for the UAE.