Last night was a World Cup qualifying match between Qatar and China, held at the (thankfully air-conditioned) Al Sadd Stadium. While the stadium wasn’t full was a decent crowd, maybe 6000+ supporting Qatar and around 600-700 Chinese supporters. Traffic was still an issue though, especially since the Boxing Championships are being held at the other stadium nearby (I’m going to that on Saturday). The Chinese supporters were all wearing identical T-shirts so I assume the Chinese Football Federation handed them out to fans.
In the first half Qatar played better than the Chinese, getting most of the possession and chances. Qatar managed to score one goal and it was only through sheer luck that they didn't manage to score a second one. 1-0 after halftime.
The halftime show was a troupe from China, representing a Dragon and Lions. They were pretty good. I liked how the Lions would suddenly stand on two legs.
In the second half the teams were more evenly matched, China upped its game so there was a lot of back-and-forth and chances on both sides. Things were getting tense, it got a little rougher and there was the odd questionable tackle on both sides.
In the end since they were evenly matched no one could score, Qatar’s goal held and Qatar won 1-0. An impressive effort against the higher-ranked Chinese team (China is ranked 81, Qatar 92) and a deserved win for Qatar.
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