Tychy: Qatar's 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland campaign came to an end after the West Asians fell 1-0 to USA in their final Group D tie at the Tychy Stadium on Thursday.
A sublime 76th-minute Timothy Weah goal earned USA a 1-0 win that advanced them to the knockout phase as Group D runners-up and extinguished Qatar’s faint hopes.
The Asians, having lost their first two matches, had the better of the first half as they fought to keep their campaign alive.
Hashim Ali had their best chance, going clean through, but David Ochoa, making his first start in Poland, made a fine block and Yusuf Abdurisag couldn’t convert the rebound.
The US assumed control after the break, and were finally rewarded when Alex Mendez found Weah, who nutmegged his marker before finishing with aplomb.
It should have been 2-0 in the 85th minute, but Shehab Mamdouh made a superb save from Mendez’s penalty, before the crossbar denied the Americans deep into injury time.
USA will face the winners of Group E - either France or Mali - in Bydgoszcz in the Round of 16.
On Friday, Korea Republic meet Argentina in their final Group F tie needing a win for a confirmed knockout stage spot.
The East Asians rebounded from a 1-0 defeat to Portugal to defeat South Africa by a similar score on Matchday Two and sit on three points, the same as Portugal with Argentina having already advanced.
Saudi Arabia, having lost 2-0 to France and 4-3 to Mali, have to defeat Panama in their final Group E match to have any hope of advancing.
Japan have sealed their place in the Round of 16 after finishing runners-up in Group B and will meet the Group F runners-up - possibly Korea Republic.
Sources: FIFA.com, FIFA via Getty Images
Source: the-afc.com