Substitute Ali Saleh ends Tajikistan's stubbornness ... and grants Al-Abyad a moral victory

Ali Saleh, in a previous meeting with the national team. Archives

Striker Ali Salih led the national football team today to a hard-fought victory in the 93rd minute, against Tajikistan, during the friendly match that was held at Zabeel Stadium in Al Wasl Club in Dubai.

Ali Mabkhout was able to score the two goals of reducing the difference and a draw, after Tajikistan was ahead with two goals without a response, but substitute Ali Saleh managed to score the winning goal with a shot after following an attack by the team.

It is noteworthy that Tajikistan ranks 122nd in the world in the last classification of FIFA, while the White team is ranked 74. The match revealed wholesale defensive mistakes, which contributed significantly to the two goals of the guest team.

This is the second match for coach Pinto, after the first friendly he lost to Uzbekistan, 2-1, making Tajikistan's friendly win for Pinto.

This experience revealed weaknesses in the national team after it appeared in a faint way, and its identity and personality were absent, especially in the first half, which came negatively for the Whites, in terms of performance and result, and the Whites suffered due to defensive gaps, and the absence of organization and homogeneity among the team players.

Tajikistan, nicknamed "squirrels", ended the first half with two goals scored by defender Davronion "9" from a header shot from a ball from a fixed kick, taking advantage of the absence of defensive coverage, and Kamron Tarsunov "19" also benefited from a fatal defensive error, while the team reduced the difference through the attacker. Ali Mabkhout from an "29" anchor shot, taking advantage of a cross from Bandar Al-Ahbabi, from an attack initially led by Lima.

Mabkhout managed to score a draw (63) from a penalty kick that the referee awarded in favor of Al-Abyad. After the physical collapse of Tajikistan's players, Al-Obeid’s attack increased the risk of Al-Obeid’s attack, until Ali Saleh scored the winning goal in the last minute of the match.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news