(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Armstrong Vas | The Peninsula / QNA
Doha: Qatar yesterday rolled out the red carpet to welcome its victorious AFC Asian Cup team as the nation led by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani joined in giving a royal welcome to the national football team.
The festive spirit which had engulfed the country after the epoch-making victory on Friday carried on to another day as the national heroes reached home and were given a rousing welcome.
The victory celebrations in Qatar kicked off yesterday from Doha International Airport were the team, which arrived along with top Qatar Football Association (QFA) officials, were welcomed upon their arrival by H H the Amir.
On Friday, Qatar created history by registering a resounding 3-1 win over four-time champions Japan to register a historic maiden Asian Cup title in Abu Dhabi.
H H the Amir congratulated the champions, the coaching and administrative staff, praising the special performances and sportsmanship shown by the team throughout and wished them well in future competitions.
Also welcoming the team were the Personal Representative of H H the Amir, H H Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, Minister for Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali, Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, a number of Ministers, high-ranking officials and the players' families.
A host of players from the Olympic team, age-group teams and also from Aspire Academy were also present at the Airport in addition to a large crowd of fans to greet and welcome the team. H H the Amir, who arrived at the airport a few minutes before the team landed, mingled with the crowd gathered at the airport, shook hands with the fans and greeted them.
The players and other members of the team then took selfies with H H the Amir while the other high profile guests took pictures with the trophy, players and officials of the team.
The team then departed in an open bus on its onward journey to the Corniche, where thousands of fans had lined up to greet the team.
Before the final triumph against Japan, Qatar downed UAE 4-0 in the semi-final, South Korea 1-0 in the quarter-finals, while in the pre-quarter-finals Qatar edged Iraq 1-0.
In the group league matches, Qatar began the tournament campaign by beating Lebanon 2-0, following it up with 6-0 win over North Korea and rounded off the group engagements with a convincing 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia, to finish on top of the group with an all-win record.
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