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Akram Afif stakes claim as one of Asian Cup’s greatest as Qatar win back-to-back titles
Twice, the crowd roared as the dawning realisation of what was about to happen spread like waves amongst them but by the third time, they definitely knew what was coming.
For cometh the hour, cometh Akram Afif.
After positioning himself to take the 21st-minute penalty that would open the scoring in Qatar’s 3-1 win over Jordan in the Asian Cup final on Saturday evening, Qatar skipper Hassan Al-Havdos instead turned away and knocked the ball into the hands of a waiting Afif.
It was a move the Qataris have pulled before, the subtle art of mental disintegration in penalty shootouts, but the crowd responded anyway.
In the 73rd minute, with the scores locked at 1-1 after Yazan Al-Maimat had fired the gallant Jordanians level as part of an improved second-half effort, VAR intervention led referee Ma Ning to determine that Mahmoud Al-Mardi had unfairly brought down Ismaeel Mohammad in the Jordanian penalty area.
Almoez Ali stepped up, before he too turned on his heel and handed the ball off to Afif. Another roar rang out.
Then, in the 91st, following another VAR intervention, this one seeing Ning award a penalty after Jordanian keeper Yazid Abu Layla was adjudged to have brought down Afif’s burst behind the Chivalrous Ones’ lines, Almoez again stood over the spot, ball in hand.
Only this time, the crowd wasn’t going to be fooled. Nobody in Doha was fooled at this point and the Lusail Stadium thundered with a call for Afif to take the spot kick, noise that rose to another level when he moved forward.
On each occasion, the Qatari contingent of the 86,492 reported attendees emanated a sense of eager anticipation and confidence. Not only for the second consecutive Asian Cup title that would soon be theirs, but for a legacy-defining moment for one of the Asian Cup’s greatest-ever players.
The 27-year-old had played a defining role in lifting his side to an upset 3-2 win over Iran in the semifinals just days prior and now, it would fall upon his shoulders once more. And on all three occasions, he was up for the challenge.
To Abu Layla’s credit, he reacted quickly after Afif’s stutter-step run-up and side-footed effort on the first penalty, coming agonisingly close to getting a hand to the shot as he moved down and to his right. But the shot was hit with too much direction and power, nestling into the bottom corner of the net and putting Qatar into the ascendancy.
The Jordanian keeper would again guess right on the second but, once again, prove unable to get a hand to a wickedly hit effort as it flew beyond him and into the back of the net.
Afif then got one up on the keeper when he sealed his hat trick at the death, burying a shot into the bottom right corner as the keeper dived to his left. Qatar’s status as just the fifth Asian nation to defend its crown was now secured off the boot of its talisman.
In 2019, Afif provided ten assists and netted once as Qatar secured their first continental crown. This time around, propelled by his hat-trick in the decider, he has taken out the tournament’s Golden Boot with eight goals, as well as grabbing a further three assists.
More than one and a half goal involvements across two Asian Cups, a key cog in one title and a figure without which a second one simply does not happen — the attacker earning deserved recognition as best on ground and player of the tournament in the aftermath of Saturday’s final.
After his first penalty, he reached into his sock and pulled out a trading card featuring his likeness in celebration of his first goal, showing it to the camera and kissing his ring finger before performing a sleight-of-hand trick to reveal an ‘S’ drawn on the other side. He confirmed post-game that it was a tribute to his wife, who was attending her first match at Lusail; Afif’s own tribute as he was etching his name into the annals of Asian Cup history.
Indeed, to watch Afif in action on stages such as the Asian Cup is to come to engage in an act of simultaneous appreciation and selfishness; of admiration for what he is capable of on a football pitch and a yearning to see someone of his talents tested against the world’s best.
His work to win the penalty was a devastating case in point.
Seconds before Ma pointed to the spot, he had been bearing down the left flank, cushioning perfectly a pass from Lucas Mendes to accelerate beyond defender Abdallah Nasib and towards the Jordanian penalty area in one smooth movement. A lethal blur of afro hair and maroon kit, he would subtly shift his body weight one way and then the other to gain a step on his pursuer before bursting towards the box, with Nasib’s attempts to recover only resulting in the pair’s right legs clipping into each other.
The 27-year-old had brief spells in Spain and Belgium earlier in his career but settled himself at Qatar Stars League side Al Sadd in 2018 — but what if?
That’s not to be dismissive of Qatar’s domestic league, moreso an almost yearning to see just what would happen if this dynamo, one seemingly at the peak of his powers, was tested week in and week out against some of the world’s best defenders while deployed alongside the world’s best attackers. Post-game, he would speak of that of course the idea appeals to him but that it’s not just up to him about his future, that there are many views to be heard, not the least of which is his wife.
“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” he reflected, “it’s destiny.”
It’s funny that he spoke of destiny, because just before halftime there looked like there was going to be a cruel twist of it when Afif sent a brief scare through the crowd after remaining on the turf after going down without contact, with the stretcher called for to carry him off.
He would soon re-emerge, but the soreness remained as he was beaten to a ball into the box by Jordan’s leading light Musa Al-Taamari with Mohammed Waad forced to stage a last-ditch intervention to deflect it away.
He was fine, staying out there as Jordan would refuse to bow in the face of adversity, something they have done all tournament. But alas for coach Hussein Ammouta, the magic that had come to define their run to the final in Doha didn’t have anything left to give in Lusail.
They would hurl numerous attacks forward in their attempt to get into the game before Al-Naimat’s leveller, improving in the second half but unable to get past the brick wall that was Qatari keeper Meshaal Barsham.
Trailing for much of the game, or attempting to capitalise on the momentum of their equaliser, they were forced to take the initiative and control of the ball, denied their free-flowing transition game and instead needed to work against a settled Qatari defence, who in turn could play in transition.
Jordan would end the game with 58% of the ball and 16 shots but with just six of them on target, as Qatar picked their moments and moved the ball into areas where they could win their spot kicks — the timing of which Ammouta’s admitted post-game came at the worst possible time for his squad, while refusing to take issue with any of their awarding.
Of course, to some extent, while Jordan was already a winner having advanced to this point, Qatar needed this win.
After their three straight defeats at a home World Cup a lot of their reputation — the reputation of 2019 — rested on what they could do at home.
Now, perhaps one of the biggest takeaways from the 2023 Asian Cup is just how much Qatar bungled their preparations for the 2022 World Cup, their long overseas tours inadvertently setting them up to perform at a level so below what they should have been able to.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s increasing investment and moves to monopolise major events in the region also threaten to put them in the shade in the years ahead, even if a large number of the soft power, reputational laundering, economic, and infrastructural benefits of hosting major footballing events have already been banked.
Whatever happens, though, they’ll now always be back-to-back Asian champions. And Afif will always be one of the Asian Cup’s greatest ever.
(ESPN)
In only their second World Cup outing, Italy claimed a clinical first win, silencing a largely Nepal supporting crowd in Mumbai. After the bowlers restricted Nepal effectively on a worn surface, Italy’s opening pair, the Sydney-raised brothers, Justin and Anthony Mosca, then rampaged to the target on their own, both notching half-centuries to seal victory with more than seven overs to spare.
Nepal, having run England so close in their opening match, came in as the favoured side – in terms of both their pedigree at global events and the backing in the stands. But they struggled to get going with the bat after being inserted, with Aasif Sheikh’s 27 off 24 the top score of an underpowered effort. Italy’s spin attack were superb, Crishan Kalugamage , Ben Meneti and JJ Smuts claiming combined figures of 6 for 49 from their 12 overs.
Needing to score at little more than a run a ball, Italy were in no mood to get bogged down. Anthony Mosca hammered his second ball for a towering six over midwicket and, after a slower start, Justin soon joined his brother in targeting the boundary. Justin was the first to 50, from 37 balls, with Anthony bringing up the milestone from just 28 balls with another blazing slog-sweep moments later. It was Anthony who completed the Italian job with a single into the covers to spark jubilation on the sidelines.
The Wankhede is used to dominant displays from a team in blue, but few would have expected such a thrashing to be handed out by the Azzurri. Not least because they came into this match without their captain, Wayne Madsen, and having suffered a heavy defeat to Scotland in their opening match in Kolkata. Nepal, meanwhile, we looking to record their third win in T20 World Cups – and first since 2014.
Given their strengths, Nepal might have fancied their chances defending a low total on the same surface where spin played such a key role in Wednesday’s game between West Indies and England – but any such thoughts were quickly dispelled. Anthony Mosca, the elder brother, was particularly brutal in taking apart an experienced Nepal attack, while both openers used the crease intelligently to target scoring opportunities.
Having needed a few balls to get in, Justin Mosca took 14 off Karan KC’s second over, then the brothers traded sixes off Lalit Rajbanshi’s only over to raise Italy’s 50 at the end of the fourth over. Even the early introduction of Nepal’s trump card, legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, could not slow the Moscas’ advance, as Anthony cleared long-off and then dragged past short fine leg to leave Italy 68 for 0 at the end of the powerplay.
From there, with 56 required off 84, they could tick along towards individual milestones – and by reaching the target in tandem, they recorded the highest partnership between siblings in all T20 internationals, beating the 119 added by Kathryn and Sarah Bryce for Scotland against Netherlands at the 2019 Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier.
Italy’s victory was a family affair, with Harry Manenti – younger brother of Ben – standing in for the injured Madsen as captain. “Our goal was always to compete at this level,” Harry said afterwards. “We didn’t quite nail it the other day [against Scotland] but we showed the world what we’ve got.”
T20 isn’t the format that naturally lends itself to catenaccio – the famed Italian approach to football which is focused on defence – but Italy went about restricting Nepal superbly after opting to bowl first. The surface was the same as that used for West Indies’ win over England the night before, and stroke-making looked to be a challenge as Ben Manenti started with a maiden over to Kushal Bhurtel.
Bhurtel took eight balls to get off the mark, found the boundary with his ninth and then was dismissed from his tenth, miscuing a slash off Ali Hasan straight to cover point. Nepal were 10 for 1 after three overs, but got going with Aasif Sheikh picking up back-to-back boundaries in Hasan’s second over. Paudel then got the crowd on their feet with sixes off JJ Smuts and Grant Stewart, as they ended the powerplay in better shape on 46 for 1.
However, Italy returned to spin and reapplied the defensive press. Paudel was dismissed in Crishan Kalugamage’s first over, hoicking a googly to long-on, and two balls later both set batters were gone: Aasif Sheikh overbalanced against Manenti’s arm ball, leaving his toe on the line as Gian-Piero Meade whipped off the bails.
A hard-running partnership of 44 off 39 ensued between Aarif Sheikh and Dipendra Singh Airee. Just three boundaries were scored between the end of the powerplay and the fifth ball of the 18th over as Nepal scrambled to get a score on the board. Airee had helped take down Adil Rashid as they gave England a scare, but he struggled for timing this time around before being bowled by Italy’s legspinner, Kalugamage smuggling a googly through the gap to hit off stump.
That triggered a disastrous collapse, from 93 for 3 to 102 for 8. Lokesh Bam hauled Ben Manenti to deep midwicket, Aarif Sheikh picked out deep backward square leg off Smuts and Kalugamage bagged a third when Gulsan Jha holed out to long-on. Some shoddy running did for Nandan Yadav. Karan KC nailed the returning Hasan for six and four to briefly re-energise the Nepali support in the stands, but two wickets in three balls at the start of the 19th saw them bowled out short of their allocation.
Brief scores:
Italy 124 for 0 in 12.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 62*, Justin Mosca 60*) beat Nepal 123 in 19.3 overs (Aasif Sheikh 20, Rohit Paudel 23, Dipendra Singh Airee 17, Aarif Sheikh 27, Karan KC 18; Ben Manenti 2-09, Ali Hasan 1-34,JJ Smuts 1-22, Crishan Kalugamage 3-18, Jasprit Singh 1-08) by 10 wickets
[Cricinfo]
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has selected his daughter as his heir, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Little is known about Kim Ju Ae, who in recent months has been pictured beside her father in high-profile events like a visit to Beijing in September- her first known trip abroad.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it took a “range of circumstances” into account including her increasingly prominent public presence at official events” in making this assessment.
The NIS also said it would keep close tabs on whether she will attend the North’s party congress later this month – its largest political event that is held once every five years.
The party Congress is where Pyongyang is expected to give more details about priorities like foreign policy, war planning and nuclear ambitions for the next five years.
On Thursday lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen told reporters that Ju Ae, who was previously described by the NIS as being “trained” to be a successor, was now at the stage of “successor designation”.
“As Kim Ju Ae has shown her presence at various events, including the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army and her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, and signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” Lee said.
Ju Ae is the only known child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. The NIS believes Kim Jong Un has an older son, but this son has never been acknowledged nor shown on North Korean media.
News of Ju Ae’s existence first emerged through an unlikely source: the American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who revealed to The Guardian newspaper back in 2013 that he “held baby Ju Ae” during a trip to the secretive state.
Ju Ae – who is believed to be 13 – made her first appearance on state television in 2022. She was shown inspecting North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile while holding her father’s hand.
She has since made frequent appearances on on state media, softening her father’s image of a ruthless dictator. She accompanied him to Beijing for China’s largest-ever military parade, where she was seen stepping off his armoured train at Beijing Railway Station.
She is often seen wearing her hair long, which is forbidden for her peers, and wearing designer clothes, which are out of reach for most in her country.
Another lawmaker, Park Sun-won said the role Ju Ae had taken on during public events indicated that she has started to provide policy input and is being treated as the de facto second-highest leader.
The North Korean power had passed down the three generations of the Kim family, and it is widely believed that Kim Jong Un will pass on the throne to Ju Ae.
In recent months, she was shown standing taller than her father, walking beside him, rather than following him.
In North Korea, where photos published by the state media are believed to carry a great symbolic weight, it is rare for individuals other than Kim Jong Un to be positioned equally prominently in the frame.
Although the South Korean spy agency now believes Ju Ae is the designated heir, it still raises questions.
It is puzzling why Ju Ae, a daughter, would be selected as the heir above an older son in North Korea’s deeply patriarchal society.
Many defectors and analysts had previously dismissed the idea of a woman leading North Korea as an unlikely scenario, referring to the country’s entrenched traditional gender roles. But Kim Jong Un’s sister – Kim Yo Jong – does offer a precedent for female authority in the regime.
Kim Yo Jong currently holds a senior position in the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and is reported to have influence over her brother.
However, it is also a mystery why Kim Jong Un, who is still young and appears relatively healthy, is already designating a 13-year-old child as his heir now.
It is unclear what changes Ju Ae’s succession may bring to North Korea.
Many North Koreans hoped that Kim Jong Un, a Western-educated young man, would open their country up to the outside when he succeeded his father.
Yet such hope was unfulfilled. Whatever plans this teenager may have for her country, she would likely have the singular power to shape it however she likes.
[BBC]
Sri Lanka’a powerful middle order blew Oman away in Pallekele, helping them sweep to a 105-run win. In perhaps the most one-sided game of the T20 World Cup so far, Dasun Shanaka struck Sri Lanka’s fastest ever T20I half-century, in 19 balls, while a 28-ball 60 from Pavan Rathnayake and 61 by Kusal Mendis propelled Sri Lanka to 225, this World Cup’s highest score and Sri Lanka’s second-highest in T20 World Cups.
Oman did strike early when Jay Odedra cleaned up Kamil Mishara, but the wickets they took never stymied the flow of runs. Pathum Nissanka was trapped up front off the first ball of the sixth over by Sufyan Mehmood, but it still went for 16. And the middle overs saw Mendis ensure the run rate only ever kept rising. The fireworks from Rathnayake and Shanaka in the second half of the innings powered Sri Lanka well beyond Oman’s batting capabilities.
The total was never likely to be challenged, and while Oman tried damage limitation, even that was less than successful. Dushmantha Chameera cleaned up Jatinder Singh first ball, and Oman went on to lose two more wickets in a powerplay where only 36 runs were scored. Maheesh Theekshana was sensational throughout his four-over spell, conceding just 11 runs, and made the task much easier for his fellow bowlers. Much of what followed was both sides largely going through the motions. Oman limped to 120, largely thanks to Mohammad Nadeem’s half-century – which makes him the oldest half-centurion at a men’s T20 World Cup. But it was little more than a footnote as Sri Lanka romped to victory in Pallekele’s first match at this World Cup.
In the overs when a bowling side might generally be expected to rein in the scoring, Oman’s disciplines wavered, and Sri Lanka made them pay. The three overs after the powerplay produced just 21 for Sri Lanka, but as Wasim Ali was wrapping up another tidy over, he overstepped, and then overstepped on the free-hit ball again. The over ended up leaking 17, and kicked off a four-over spell where 54 runs were scored. It set up the perfect platform for Rathnayake and Shanaka to exploit at the death.
By the 15th over, Sri Lanka were on course for a total beyond Oman’s reach, but the carnage was only just starting. Shanaka had made a sedate start, with seven in his first seven balls, but would need just 12 more to get to 50, beating his own Sri Lankan record for the fastest T20I half-century. It began with a six and a four off Jiten Ramanandi before Nadeem Khan was carted around for a 20-run over, and Sufyan for 19 more. The last five overs fetched the hosts 79, comfortably the highest at the death at this World Cup.
His wicket-taking days weren’t done, though, and he demonstrated a willingness to come on anytime the batters clawed the slightest momentum back. Dushan Hemantha was hit for two sixes in the 11th by Wasim Ali, and Theekshana was straight back on, and had Wasim caught behind before the over was out. He rounded out his spell with a miserly one-run over, finishing with 2 for 11, comfortably the most economical four-over spell this World Cup.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 225 for 5 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 13, Kusal Mendis 61, Pavan Rathnayake 60, Dasun Shanaka 50, Kamindu Mendis 19-; Jay Odedra 1-14, Sufiyan Mahmood 1-60. Jiten Ramanandi 2-41) beat Oman 120 for 9 in 20 overs (Mohammad Nadeem 53*, Wasim Ali 27; Maheesh Theekshana 2-11, Dushmantha Chameera 2-19, Dunith Wellalage 2-17, Dushan Hemantha 1-45, Kamindu Mendis 1-10) by 105 runs
[Cricinfo]
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