Boualem Khoukhi's stoppage time header earned Qatar a 1-1 draw with Switzerland at the World Cup.
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Qatar may finally be able to go ahead in their forgettable World Cup four years ago, scoring a late goal to earn a shock 1-1 draw with Group B favorites Switzerland on Saturday.
And oh, what a miss for the mighty Swiss.
Another TV headline at home on French-language public radio RTS cried: “QATARSTROPHE.”
Boualem Khoukhi scored the equalizer with a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time to give Qatar its first ever World Cup point in front of 67,966 spectators at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
A number of Qatari players fell to the ground in celebration of the late goal while others ran to hug each other.
“I was very proud today … our mentality, the character they showed today,” Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui said. “We needed to have our plan that we had to carry out. We were a little lucky, but you need to believe and want to have this belief and luck in life and in football.”
Breel Embolo scored Switzerland from the penalty spot in the first half a week after being cleared to enter the US following a visa delay, but the Swiss failed to capitalize on several other scoring opportunities.
Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria is asked by RTS if the result was a disaster.
“Obviously,” he said. “We didn't play the type of game we needed. We had a lot of opportunities and missed a lot in front of goal. Today we paid a heavy price.”
In the 13th minute, Embolo was fouled by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada who received a yellow card in the game. Abunada lay face down and seemed motionless for a few minutes before he started to move his legs and was able to stand up again.
When Embolo calmly sent his penalty into the top left corner in the 17th minute, it sent the red-clad Swiss fans dancing in the stands.
The 29-year-old striker applied for an emergency visa at the US embassy in Bern on June 3, one day after he was denied boarding the team's flight to the third World Cup because of a 2018 criminal case that was concluded in April.
Switzerland dominated the match on an unseasonably warm June afternoon – with the sprinklers running at half-time.
Thousands of empty seats
There were thousands of empty seats scattered throughout Levi's Stadium, home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Brazil and Colombia played to a draw with 70,971 two years ago in the Copa America group stage. Santa Clara Stadium hosted the Super Bowl four months ago.
Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made a save in the second minute after Edmilson Junior broke into the defense to score one goal. Kobel bundled the ball in again in the 90th on Ahmed Alaaeldin's close range effort.
Switzerland will be hoping to go further than their Round-of-16 performance four years ago before losing 6-1 to Portugal – with Goncalo Ramos producing a matchless winner in place of star player Cristiano Ronaldo. The loss prompted Swiss player Xherdan Shaqiri to apologize to fans.
The Swiss used consistency and experience to remain unbeaten with wins against Sweden, Kosovo and Slovenia. Coach Murat Yakin's side produced four wins and two draws to secure their sixth consecutive World Cup appearance and have not missed one since 2002, but the team has never advanced to the quarterfinals.
Qatar had to make it through the qualifiers in November – beating the United Arab Emirates and Oman – after missing out on their Asian qualifiers.
The Gulf State became the first country to host the group stage four years ago. Qatar lost to Senegal, Ecuador and the Netherlands in the 2022 tournament, scoring their only goal in a 3-1 defeat to Senegal.
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