Afif's hat-trick from the penalty spot, Adingra's serve and Aller's touch: Qatar won the Asian Cup, and Côte d'Ivoire won the African Cup

Natural success of Qatar

The Asian Cup final could be compared to a confrontation between David and Goliath. The Qatar team was considered the obvious favorite. She was eager to defend the trophy won five years earlier and, moreover, performed at home.

However, the Jordanian national team could not be written off under any circumstances, because it created a real sensation at the continental championship. Having never before reached the quarterfinals, the team sensationally knocked out Iraq and South Korea in the playoffs and demonstrated their unbending character.

So in the decisive match, Husin Ammuta’s team looked decent and did everything in their power. They did not press against their own goal, they tried to act on opposite courses and sometimes locked the opponent in their half. It is not surprising that the first chance was created by Yazan Al Naimat, whose strong shot from outside the penalty area was dealt with with some difficulty by Meshaal Barsham.

But almost in response to the attack, the Qataris earned a penalty. Akram Afif burst into the penalty area from the left flank, cleverly covered the ball with his body, and Abdalla Nasib touched his legs. The victim himself converted the eleven-throw, although Yazid Abu Laila guessed the direction of the blow. Afterwards, the striker delighted the fans with an unexpected trick. He showed the camera a card with his own image, and then abruptly changed it to a picture with the letter “S”.

To the credit of the guests, they did not give up, but seized the initiative and in the second half completely pressed the burgundy team to the goal. For the time being, Barsham helped them out. For example, he parried Ehsan Haddad's shot into the near corner and prevented Yazan Al-Arab from scoring after a corner. The main star of the opponents, Moussa Al-Tamari, also failed to break through.

But still, constant pressure bore fruit. In the 67th minute, Haddad made an excellent cross from the right side. Al-Naimat handled the ball with his first touch, and with the second he sent it into the top corner with his left foot without a chance for the goalkeeper.

At the moment when it seemed that another sensation would break out, referee Ma Ning helped the hosts. On the other hand, he again had reasons to point to the “point”. Fresh Ismail Mohammed burst into the penalty area, and striker Mahmoud Al-Mardi, who came to the aid of his partners, braided his legs. To make a decision, the referee needed to watch the replay. Afif again did his job brilliantly.

And in stoppage time, when the Jordanians staged the final assault, the appointment of a third penalty kick finally killed the intrigue. This time there were definitely no questions for the referee. Afif ran away to rendezvous with Abu Laila, beat him and forced him to break the rules. Of course, the forward simply had no right not to take advantage of such a chance.

Thus, he became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Asian Cup final. It is curious that in the decisive match of the previous tournament with Japan, he also converted a penalty. And at the end of the championship, the owner of a luxurious hairstyle won the scorers' race with eight goals, half of which were penalty kicks. Not otherwise, he took the example of Kylian Mbappe, who a little over a year ago here, at the Lusail Iconic stadium, upset Argentina three times in the World Cup final and did it twice from the point.

It was largely thanks to Afif’s performance that Qatar, which had previously made it to the top 8 at the continental championship, won it for the second time in a row. Along the way, the team caught up with South Korea in terms of the number of trophies. Only Japan (4), Saudi Arabia and Iran (3 each) are ahead of them.

Strong-willed victory for Ivory Coast

If in the Asian Cup the favorite in the battle for the title was obvious, then in the meeting for gold medals at the African Cup of Nations two giants met, and it was not easy to determine the strongest. At first glance, Nigeria had a slightly better chance of success, having passed the championship in one breath and only experienced difficulties in the semi-finals with South Africa, which they knocked out in a penalty shootout. The “Super Eagles” showed themselves to be a pragmatic squad, scoring few goals, but also conceding almost no goals - only two goals.

Côte d'Ivoire, on the other hand, made it out of the group with great difficulty and changed their coach during the home tournament. But in the playoffs, the hosts secured not only the support of the fans, but also fortune. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain their victory over Mali with goals in the 90th and 122nd minutes and their victory in the “lottery” over the formidable Senegal.

The first half left an extremely mixed impression. On the one hand, the guests did not spend it in the best way. On the other hand, we managed to convert the only chance and went to the locker room, leading in the score. The hosts, spurred on by the packed Olympique Alassane Ouattara stadium in Abidjan, immediately seized the initiative. The opponents, operating according to a scheme with three central defenders, built defensive redoubts in their half, trying to leave a minimum of space.

However, Emers Fae's team still found free zones, in particular on the left side, where Simon Adingra was active. At every opportunity, he tried to send the ball into the penalty area to the tall Sebastien Allaire. For example, in the opening, after another serve, the Borussia Dortmund forward slightly missed the ball. There was a sharp edge at Stanley Nwabili's goal after the set plays. For example, Odilon Kossunu tried to score an overhead shot, but missed the target. And the most dangerous chance was missed by the mentioned Adingra. After the watering hole, he received the ball in the penalty area from Frank Kessier, but shot at the goalkeeper.

The Nigerians were unable to counterattack at all, and Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman stood alone in front. For a long time it was not even possible to disturb Yahya Fofana. But the very first corner led to an unexpected goal. William Trost-Ekong dangled his guard in the air and shot under the crossbar.

The incident did not affect the course of the game. The Ivorians continued to increase the pressure, and the opponents seemed to not understand what to do. And most importantly, their vaunted defense did not look monolithic. In the second half, this helped the “elephants” make a natural comeback. They were still unable to cover Adingra on the left flank, who easily escaped Ola Eina over and over again. Aller and his partners were allowed to receive the ball and shoot. For the time being, only Nwabili remained reliable. For example, he dealt with Odilon Kossounou's shot from a distance and parried Frank Kessier's shot from ten meters away. And in one of the episodes, Calvin Bassey covered him on the line.

But this could not continue forever. In the end, a corner also helped the hosts level the score. After Adingra's magnificent diagonal, Kessier, unprotected, sent the ball into the target. But Nwabili made a mistake, first jerking towards the exit, and then stopping and losing the opportunity to help out his partners.

After the return goal the game calmed down. It seemed that the teams were afraid to take risks, and the fans were waiting for another extra time in the playoffs of the tournament. But Adingra did not agree with this. The young Brighton midfielder, who made his debut for the national team only last year, actually turned the tide of the confrontation. In the 81st minute, he again left Eina and made a cool pass into the goalkeeper, and Aller corrected the ball into the net with the toe of his boot.

The Nigerians had enough time to save themselves, especially since the referee added seven minutes. But they were not really able to organize the final assault and never even bothered Fofana again, ending the match with one shot on target.

The Ivorians won a natural victory and wrote an incredible story. With great difficulty, leaving the group with three points and changing coaches during the home tournament, they were stronger than Senegal, Mali, DR Congo and Nigeria in the playoffs and won the CAN for the third time.

A day earlier, South Africa and DR Congo met in the match for third place. The main and extra time ended without goals, and for the third time in a row the South Africans had to determine the strongest in the “lottery”. And they again demonstrated how strong they are in this component. Even Teboho Mokoena's miss with the first blow did not bother Bafana Bafana. Further, the players did not make any mistakes.

It is all the more surprising that at the decisive moment one of the most experienced Leopards players, Chancel Mbemba, did not take advantage of the opportunity to bring bronze medals to the team. Ronwen Williams handled his weak shot near center at a comfortable height. And in the series, before the first blot, Meshak Elia lost his nerve, and the goalkeeper made another save. So Williams parried a total of six shots in the “lottery” in Côte d'Ivoire (four in the meeting with Cape Verde) and helped South Africa rise to the CAN podium for the first time since 2000.