Yahya Al Ghassani celebrates with a teammate.
Doha, Qatar: Yahya Al Ghassani scored two goals in as many minutes to help United Arab Emirates seal passage into the FIFA Arab Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 win as ten-man Kuwait bowed out in spirited fashion at the Stadium 974 yesterday.
UAE’s fate was not in their hands but they knew they needed at least a victory to reach the knockout stages. They got off to the brightest of starts when they were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute after Ahmad Aldhefeery brought down Al Ghassani, who calmly converted his spot kick. Just two minutes later, Al Ghassani found the net again after Kuwait lost possession near their goal and, after some neat passing play, the 27-year-old winger slotted home in style.
Kuwait’s hopes of a comeback suffered a serious setback early in the second half when Sultan Al Enezi was sent off for an off-the-ball incident with Al Ghassani. Despite being a man down, they gave themselves hope when Fahed Al Hajri headed in a deep inswinging free-kick from Mohammad Daham.
UAE, however, quickly capitalised on their numerical advantage to retake the lead in style in the 66th minute when Nicolas Gimenez struck an emphatic effort from the edge of the area in one of the goals of the tournament so far.
UAE coach Cosmin Olaroiu said: "We played a good game. We started very well again and had the advantage with the goals. Unfortunately, again, we conceded from set pieces,"
Kuwait coach Helio de Sousa said, "We made some small but costly mistakes and went behind. Even with one player less, we managed to make it 1-2 at one time. It was a very difficult moment, but the players believed. We still have a lot to improve. The road is long, but we believe that with full commitment, we can move forward together and build a stronger team in the near future.
UAE will next meet the Group D leaders Algeria in their quarter-final clash on Friday.
