Youthful Qatar held to goalless draw by Afghanistan 

Doha, Qatar: A young Qatar side on Thursday was held to a goalless draw as Afghanistan earned a precious point in their AFC Asian Cup 2027 and FIFA Wo...

Doha, Qatar: A young Qatar side on Thursday was held to a goalless draw as Afghanistan earned a precious point in their AFC Asian Cup 2027 and FIFA World Cup 2026 joint qualifying match at Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.       The Marquez Lopez’s side had already advanced to the World Cup qualifiers and secured top spot in Group A but the race for runners-up position in the group remains open as India and Kuwait also shared points after failing to score in Kolkata.               The draw, however, broke Qatar’s winning streak after four straight victories in the qualifiers. The Asian champions are on top with 13 points, followed by India and Afghanistan on five points each, with Kuwait on the bottom with four points. 

While seasoned goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb made his international return from injury, Lopez’s starting side – a mix of senior, U23 and U19 players with an average age of 23 players – included majority of youngsters. Forward Tahsin Jamshid also made history by becoming the first ever Qatari senior international of Indian origin.

Al Annabi, who defeated Afghanistan 8-1 in the first leg in November, had dominated from the start and enjoyed much higher percentage of ball possession but struggled to find spaces in Afghanistan’s stubborn defence particularly in the first half. 

Homam Al Amin, one of the few senior players in the team, set up Abdullah Al Yazidi with a fine cross but the Al Sadd youngster’s shot from the centre was a bit too high.   A hit from a distance by Homam hit the bar with Afghanistan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi making a fabulous save from Ahmed Al Rawi’s free kick in what was the last-gasp action before the half-time. 

Al Annabi looked better in the second half as they pressed for a goal with Tahsin’s header hitting the post before Al Rawi saw his left-footed shot blocked close to the one-hour mark.   Mostafa Meshaal after an assist by Mahdi Salem then just missed the target as Afghanistan survived back-to-back attempts from Yusuf Abdurisag in stoppage time to salvage a point.