Asian Cup hosts UAE and Gulf rivals Qatar pulled off titanic upsets as they sent defending champions Australia and Son Heung-min’s South Korea crashing out in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Milos Degenek’s defensive howler handed UAE a 1-0 win, and the Qataris beat South Korea by the same score to set up a semi-final buzzing with regional tensions because of the Gulf blockade of Qatar.
UAE veteran Ali Mabkhout pounced on Degenek’s misjudged back pass for a win that was greeted by joyous drumming and a sea of smartphone torches at Al Ain’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
In Abu Dhabi, Abdelaziz Hatim fired a late winner as 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar stunned title-chasing South Korea 1-0 to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
Japan and Iran, with seven Asian Cup titles between them, will play the other semi for a place in the final in Abu Dhabi on February 1. Graham Arnold’s Australia will feel aggrieved by their defeat after peppering the UAE with 22 shots, only to be undone by Degenek’s defensive error on 68 minutes.
Degenek, who this week signed for Saudi giants Al Hilal, rolled a casual ball to Mat Ryan but Mabkhout nipped in and rounded the Brighton ‘keeper to score into an empty net. “Football can be a cruel sport,” said a rueful Arnold, backing the 24-year-old central defender to bounce back.
