The Asian Cup in Qatar has caught the attention of fans and two rounds of matches have been played in each group. Looking at the results of the matches that have been completed, many teams have won two consecutive matches in the early rounds. Of course, some teams advanced and some were eliminated in the early round. In the latest match, Southeast Asia Malaysia was beaten in the second stage and eliminated outright. This team was another underdog, Bahrain, and the national soccer team had a hard time advancing in the team's carnival.
The Asian Cup was initially held in China, but for some reason Qatar ended up taking over the tournament. In order to do well at the Asian Cup, the national soccer team came to the UAE early on under head coach Jankovic for a long training session. However, the results were not obvious from the actual battles. Facing Tajikistan and Lebanon, who are ranked more than 30 below themselves, the national soccer team was not only passive in scenarios, but also weak in offense. After two games, the national soccer team did not score any goals. Of course, to its credit, the national soccer team didn't concede a single goal either. In the end, the national soccer team earned two draws and is still second in the group, but with very poor qualification prospects. The result of another match between Malaysia and Bahrain made the qualification prospects of the national soccer team even more difficult.
Malaysia was placed in the same group as Bahrain, Jordan and South Korea. In the first round of the tournament, the significantly weaker Malaysian team lost directly to Jordan in the same group by 4 goals, while Bahrain was defeated by South Korea in the same group by 3 goals: 1. In the second match, there was a suspected problematic ball between South Korea and Jordan, and the two teams ended up in a 2:2 draw. Of course, the duel between South Korea and Jordan actually had little to do with the national soccer team, but the match between Malaysia and Bahrain had a lot to do with the qualification prospects of the national soccer team.
In this group, the games between the two weaker teams are not exciting. The two teams are evenly matched and there is a good chance of a draw. If the two teams end up drawing, this would be the best result for the national soccer team. However, that's the way the game of soccer is. No one knows what will happen until the last minute. That was the case in this match. In the extra time reading period, Bahrain took advantage of a corner kick and Ali Madan shot from near the penalty line, straight out of the reading scene. In doing so, Bahrain's goal also earned them their first win of the Asian Cup.
The win gives Bahrain three points and third place in the group. Malaysia was eliminated with 0 points after losing both matches. After Bahrain got 3 points, the qualification prospects for the national soccer team became more difficult. This is because according to the rules, in addition to the first two groups advancing directly to the round of 16, there are two other groups where the third-best finisher can also advance to the round of 16. Bahrain got three points, so it was possible to get another point to qualify in a better third place, so the national soccer team had much less hope of qualifying. After all, the national soccer team has no trouble winning in the final round against hosts Qatar. Therefore, it is better to put your hopes on others and take your fate into your own hands by defeating Qatar in the final match.
