In the final match of the football tournament, Akram Afif demonstrated a remarkable display of skill by scoring three times, all through penalty kicks. This significant contribution led to a decisive victory for his team.
Football The culmination of the Asian championship on Saturday took an unexpected turn. The host country, Qatar, who also happen to be the reigning champions, clinched a 3-1 victory against Jordan in the final held in Doha. Interestingly, all three goals for Qatar were the result of penalty kicks.
Being the home team, Qatar was subject to questions of whether they had an undue advantage with the penalties. However, each penalty was undeniably legitimate, leaving no room for doubts.
The responsibility of executing the penalty kicks fell on Akram Afif, who successfully converted each one, earning himself a hat trick. His stellar performance throughout the tournament also earned him the title of the best player. Afif’s total contribution to the tournament was eight goals.
Afif’s first goal in the final garnered special attention. After scoring, he pulled out a card from his sock, which had his picture on it. With a swift move of his fingers, he turned the card upside down to reveal a capital letter ‘S’.
Meaning of the card initially puzzled the spectators. However, Afif later revealed that it was a tribute to his wife, who was watching the match for the first time during the tournament.
“S is the first letter of my wife’s name,” Aziz explained, as reported by news agency AFP.
The final match was attended by over 85,000 spectators at the Lusail stadium, which also hosted the 2022 World Cup final.
