Qatar Suffer Defeat To Dominant Uzbekistan In Final Group A Tie

Doha, Qatar: Qatar suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of a dominant Uzbekistan side in their final Group A clash of the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers yesterday in Tashkent.

It was a disappointing display from Julen Lopetegui's side, who had raised expectations with an impressive win over Iran last week. The two-time Asian champions failed to register a single shot on target as World Cup-bound Uzbekistan dictated play from start to finish.

Azizbek Turgunboev opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, while late strikes from Eldor Shomurodov and Igor Sergeyev sealed a commanding win for the hosts in front of passionate home fans at the 34,000-capacity Bunyodkor Stadium.

The match was largely played in Qatar's half, with Uzbekistan piling on the pressure. The home side made 18 total attempts including eight shots on target. The score-line could have been even more one-sided if not for a string of saves from goalkeeper Salah Zakaria - starting in place of Meshaal Barsham.

Qatar had already secured their spot in the fourth round of qualifiers, alongside the United Arab Emirates. They finished fourth in Group A with 13 points, behind the UAE, who claimed third place with 15 points after a 1-1 draw against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.

Iran topped the group with 23 points following a 3-0 win over North Korea in Tehran, finishing two points ahead of second-placed Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan (8 points) and North Korea (4), both eliminated, finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Lopetegui had spoken before the match about the importance of carrying momentum into the next round, but his side was clearly outclassed by a determined Uzbekistan outfit.

Qatar's only real opportunity came in the ninth minute when Amro Surag narrowly missed the target. From then on, it was all Uzbekistan, who dominated possession and continually pressed forward.

Turgunboev broke the deadlock in the 28th minute with a solo effort down the right flank, muscling past defenders before scoring from a tight angle.

Zakaria kept Qatar in the game with a save from Shomurodov's effort from outside the box and another one-on-one stop just before halftime.

Defender Abdullah Youssef also cleared a goal-bound shot from Turgunboev with the goalkeeper out of position to limit the damage before the break.

Uzbekistan resumed the second half with the same intensity as Jaloliddin Masharipov came close with a shot from the edge of the box that just missed the post.

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Lopetegui attempted to shift momentum by introducing forwards Mohammed Muntari and Edmilson Junior for Ahmed Al Ganehi and Surag in the 57th minute. However, Qatar continued to struggle. Zakaria was called into action again, saving in a one-on-one against Khojiakbar Alijonov.

Akram Afif, who had a quiet evening, was replaced by Abdulrahman Fahmi Moustafa in the 70th minute, but the substitutions failed to make an impact.

In the 86th minute, Shomurodov made it 2-0, latching onto a long ball and scoring from the left side of the box after Zakaria misjudged the play. Igor Sergeyev completed the rout in second minute of stoppage time by heading in a Jamshid Iskanderov cross from close range following a corner.

Uzbekistan's Azizbek Turgunboev (right) celebrates after scoring his team's opening goal against Qatar yesterday.

Qatar will now turn their attention to the fourth round of qualifiers. The remaining teams - those finishing third and fourth in each of the three third-round groups - will be divided into two new groups.

Group winners will secure direct qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while runners-up will advance to the fifth round.

The draw for the fourth round is scheduled for July 17 with matches set to be played in October.

AFC Asian Qualifiers results

Group A

Kyrgyzstan 1-1 United Arab Emirates

Uzbekistan 3-0 Qatar

Iran 3-0 North Korea

GROUP B

South Korea 4-0 Kuwait

Jordan 0-1 Iraq

Palestine 1-1 Oman

Group C

Japan 6-0 Indonesia

China 1-0 Bahrain

Saudi Arabia 1-2 Australia

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