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The 18th edition of the Asian Football Cup will be associated with the name of Qatari Akram Afif, who sealed it with 3 successful penalty kicks against Jordan (3-1), granting Al-Anabi - today, Saturday - the right to retain his title, and the curly-haired man the title of best player in the finals and its top scorer (8).
Afif went from having the highest pass rate in the history of the Asian Cup in the UAE in 2019, to a dangerous scorer in the current edition, succeeding his compatriot Almoez Ali, who achieved both achievements 5 years ago when Qatar won the title for the first time in its history.
🇶🇦 Akram Afif wins the award for best scorer and best player in the 2023 Asian Cup #AsiaCup | #AsianCup2023 #AsianCup2023 #Asiancup #Qatar2023 pic.twitter.com/9o3nR6Ll2a
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 10, 2024
Afif contributed to 22 goals in the last two editions of the Asian Cup, with 9 goals and 13 assists, which constitutes 67% of Annabi’s goals.
He became the first player to score a hat-trick in the final matches of the Asian Cup, and the third player to score 8 or more goals in one edition after Iranian Ali Daei (8) in 1996 and his colleague Almoez Ali (9) in 2019.
The 27-year-old was the highlight of Saturday's match, with his playmaking, penetration, getting penalty kicks, and most importantly, converting them against Jordanian goalkeeper Yazid Abu Laila.
Each time, he celebrated in a magician's way by holding up a card with her picture on it and the letter S written on its second side.
Afif contributed to the UAE edition 5 years ago with 10 assists, from which his colleague in the Annabi attack, Almoez Ali, who was crowned its top scorer with 9 goals, benefited greatly. With this percentage, Afif achieved a record in the history of the Asian Cup Finals.
But things turned upside down in the current tournament because Afif turned into a dangerous scorer who contributed greatly to Qatar winning its second title in a row, as his 8 goals were distributed over 5 matches out of 7 that “Al-Adam” played in the tournament.
Afif struck strongly in the opening match against Lebanon by scoring a brace, the first at the end of the first half, while the second came in great splendor after an individual effort in stoppage time, leaving his team with a 3-0 victory.
Afif raised his score to 3 goals by scoring his team's only goal against Tajikistan in the second round.
His goal was decisive in Al-Annabi emerging victorious from the Palestine match, as he scored from a penalty kick early in the second half to give his team a 2-1 win after falling behind in the score.
He also scored one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament, when he gave his country a 2-1 lead over Iran in the semi-finals late in the first half. The ball reached him on the outskirts of the area, so he passed it between more than one Iranian defender and fired it into the net, paving the way for his team to reach the final match.
In the final, he surpassed the Iraqi Ayman Hussein (6 goals), when he jumped to the 8-goal barrier with 3 penalty kicks distributed between the two halves.
Akram Afif scores a hat-trick ⚽️⚽️⚽️#Asian_Cup | #AsiaCup2023 | #Jordan_Qatar | #Asian_Cup_Final#ASIANCUP2023 | #AsianCupFinal pic.twitter.com/XnDcQHjv2f
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 10, 2024
Afif has a strong personality, and despite the happiness he showed after the victory over Iran, he took the opportunity to respond to the critics, expressing his sadness that Qatar was not nominated before the tournament. “Sad because no one nominated us before the tournament, and sad because of the lack of confidence in our team.”
He is not afraid to talk about the team’s first campaign in the World Cup, where Qatar lost all three matches in the worst result ever for a host country. “Every tournament we participate in, we work to benefit from the lessons of the tournaments that preceded it. In the World Cup, it was difficult because we were participating for the first time.” .
He continued, "Now we are in a better position and we have accumulated experience, especially through winning the Asian Cup title in the last edition, and our participation in the World Cup on our home soil."
🇶🇦🏆The Qatari fans celebrate with the Al-Anabi stars after winning the precious cup #Asian_Cup | #AsianCup2023 #AsianCup2023 #Asiancup #Qatar2023 pic.twitter.com/7Y6Jcrhf9W
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 10, 2024
Afif enjoys the confidence of the Qatar coach
Afif gained the trust of his Spanish coach, Marques Lopez, who supervised him at the “Aspire” Academy in Doha. The latter said in this regard, “I supervised Akram when he was young and I realized at the time that he was a wonderful player who could make a difference.”
The coach added, "I am very happy now to see the development of his level and reach where he is today."
Afif came to the limelight during the AFC U-19 Championship, when he led his country to win the title at the expense of North Korea in 2014.
He played his first official match for the senior national team when the then Uruguayan national team coach, Daniel Carreño, fielded him against Bhutan in 2015, where Afif scored a goal in the match that ended in a sweeping 15-0 victory for Annabi.
Afif played three experiences on the European continent with Villarreal, Sporting Gijon of Spain, and Eupen of Belgium, before joining the ranks of Al Sadd in 2018.
He did not close the door on returning one day to a European club, saying, “Of course, I would like to play in Europe tomorrow if possible, but I do not want to go there to be a prisoner of the reserve players’ benches, and therefore it is better in this case for me to stay in my country and play.”
There is no doubt that Afif’s brilliance in the current tournament and his selection as the best player in it may enhance his chances of returning to defend the colors of a European club soon.
Source: French