Receiving end
In the semifinal, they were at the receiving end right throughout the 90 minutes of play. They were booed by a partisan crowd right from the moment the Qatar national anthem was played.
It did not end there. Sandals and water bottles were thrown at them when Qatar scored and choicest of abuses were hurled by local crowd during the course of the match. Yet Qatar did not respond and with a regal mien and poise shut out their opponents out of the contest.
Lot of emotions
Qatar's coach Felix Sanchez summed up the feelings quite aptly. "I think the game was a difficult one with a lot of emotions and we were not feeling very comfortable in the beginning," said the Spaniard.
"But we were able to manage to score twice. "Obviously in the second half the opposition tried to attack more and they put all their offensive talented players in front, but the team was very solid, relaxed and compact," added the former Barcelona youth coach, who has been with the team for the last one-and-a-half years.
Terrific performance
Right from the start of the tournament, the FIFA 2022 World Cup hosts were put through a lot of trouble by the UAE. From denying Doha-based journalists the right to cover the tournament, to issuing provocative statements and finally preventing non-Emiratis from buying tickets for the high-voltage semifinal, the UAE tried every trick to unsettle the opposition.
Perhaps it was the fallout of the blockade imposed by Gulf countries against Qatar (which has been there since June, 2017) that may have forced the Emirates nation to resort to such primitive practices.
But with their terrific performance which has seen them become the first team in the AFC Asian Cup history to go six games without giving up a goal, Qatar has clearly given a send a stern warning to their Gulf rivals not to mix sports with politics.
No overboard celebrations
That was quite evident even in the way the country celebrated its march into its maiden AFC Asian Cup final. The celebrations never went overboard.
Barring the usual flag waving and cheering, there were no abuses hurled nor any ill-will feelings to be conveyed to the crestfallen opposition.
For those who doubted Qatar's credentials after the first-round loss in Australia four years back where they lost all group matches, Al Annabi have comeback strongly and silenced all those critics. Congrats Qatar! As they say in Arabic Mabrook Qatar!