SPORTS
2019 Copa America: Qatar holds Paraguay to 2-2 draw
Qatar fought their
way back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Paraguay in their first ever Copa
America game on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
They proved they
would be no pushovers in the tournament by pulling off a thrilling revival at a
near-empty Maracana stadium.
The 2022 World Cup
hosts are one of two guest teams at the South American championship, along with
Japan.
However, their
debut got off to a nightmare start when Paraguay’s Oscar Cardozo smashed in
from the penalty kick spot in the fourth minute.
Qatar, who swept to
victory at the Asian Cup by scoring 19 goals and only conceding once, caused
their opponents plenty of problems later in the half.
But they failed to
capitalise, with striker Almoez Ali missing a glaring attempt from close range.
Early in the second
half, Cardozo had another strike ruled out after a VAR review.
But Paraguay did
not have to wait long to double their lead as Derlis Gonzalez struck in the
56th minute with a long-range rocket.
Qatar’s brave
performance looked to be in vain until Ali made amends for spurning an earlier
sitter.
He pulled his side
back into the game with a distance strike which looped into the net in the 68th
minute.
Nine minutes later,
Boualem Khoukhi levelled with a scrappy finish helped by some poor goalkeeping
from Paraguay’s Robert Fernandez.
“We dominated the
game in several phases and in spite of being 2-0 down the team never stopped
believing,” said Qatar’s Spanish manager Felix Sanchez, who began his coaching
career in FC Barcelona’s youth system.
Matias Rojas
squandered a chance to restore Paraguay’s lead late on but Qatar could have
snatched victory themselves in stoppage time.
This was when they
burst forward on the counter-attack, but the promising move came to an end due
to a misplaced pass.
Colombia lead Group
B on three points after beating Argentina 2-0 on Saturday, while Paraguay and
Qatar have a point each.
Qatar meet Colombia
on Wednesday, with Paraguay facing fourth-placed Argentina.
Paraguay coach
Eduardo Berizzo, meanwhile, criticised his side for failing to keep possession.
“Our midfield was
not capable of holding on to the ball. We really struggled to play our usual
style.
“We were facing a
very good team and we needed to construct more plays in midfield. The result is
both a prize and a punishment for what we did in the game,” he said.
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