Qatar achieves historic draw in extremis against Switzerland

The Qatar national team wrote an unprecedented page in its World Cup history by rescuing a 1-1 draw against Switzerland with a goal in the 94th minute, a result that allowed him to score a point for the first time in a World Cup.

The match played in San Francisco seemed headed for long stretches towards a Swiss victory. The European team dominated the development of the match and generated a marked difference in offensive volume, with 27 shots compared to just six from the team led by Julen Lopetegui. However, the scoreboard never fully reflected that superiority.

Switzerland had managed to take the lead in the first half thanks to a goal from Breel Plunger. The play that led to the action generated controversy due to doubts about a possible irregular position by Remo Freuler in the sequence prior to the penalty that ended up setting the partial course of the match.

With an advantage on the scoreboard and a territorial altercation, the Swiss team had multiple opportunities to increase the difference, although they were unable to close the match.

The goalkeeper supported Qatar and the goal that changed history appeared

For much of the match, the Qatari resistance had the goalkeeper as its central figure Mahmoud Abunada.

Although he was involved in the action that led to the penalty, his subsequent interventions and the security shown between the three sticks kept the team with options until the most practical part of the match. Qatar stayed in the game even when offering few offensive responses.

With time practically up and when a new World Cup defeat seemed to be consummated, the play arrived that changed the outcome.

In the 94th minute he appeared Boualem Khoukhi to connect a header that ended up inside the Swiss goal and sealed the final 1-1. The defender, born in Algeria and based in Doha since 2009, scored the goal that allowed the Asian team to celebrate an unprecedented result.

Until this match, Qatar’s World Cup record recorded three appearances and three defeats, all during its participation as host in 2022. The draw against Switzerland thus represents the first point achieved by the team in the history of the tournament.

For the European team, there was the feeling of a wasted opportunity after having controlled the game for long periods and having generated enough chances to obtain a comfortable victory.

The group’s activity will continue on June 18. Switzerland will face Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Qatar will look to extend this momentum when they take on Canada.

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