Qatar have their captain Abdelkarim Hassan to thank as the Al Sadd defender grabbed a brace to come back from behind to secure a comfortable 3-1 victory over China at Lekhwiya stadium.

It seemed that nerves had got the better of the Maroons, when Liao Lisheng’s free kick had sailed into the goal, giving the Chinese a 1-0 lead going into the break.

However Felix Sanchez’s side rallied in the second half and found an equalizer from Hassan. A well worked corner routine allowed the Qatar captain time and space to head the ball into the bottom right hand corner.

From that moment onward, the tie swung in favor of the hosts. Just seven minutes later Hassan was again on target to give Qatar a deserved lead. The Sadd man played a quick one-two with Ali Asad before smashing a twenty-five yard shot that nestled into the bottom
Qatar had their lead, and duly celebrated much to the joy of the passionate home support.

Qatar grabbed their third goal of the minute just eight minutes from time. Substitute Alaa rounded off a quick counter attack to give Qatar a comfortable 3-1 win after a nervy start to their AFC U23 campaign.

China did end the match with ten men however when Xu Xin was sent-off in the final minutes of the clash. The result leaves Qatar at the top of group A. Qatar will look to qualify from the group when they face Iran, who defeated Syria 2-0 in the opening clash of group A