Qatari boys reign supreme

QATAR, comprising ASPIRE Academy Under-18 boys, reigned supreme at the 19th International School Sport Federation’s World Championship in Prague, the Czech Republic, last Sunday.

In the final, they registered a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Germany.

Felgentrager Leo opened Germany’s account in the 18th minute while Nasser Abdulsalam equalised in the 45th. Qatar made it 2-1 seven minutes later and defended the lead to troop out winners.

Twenty four teams competed in the boys’ tournament, played on a league-cum-knockout format.

Qatar had progressed to the last eight as Group B runners-up behind France. They beat Belgium 2-1, Greece 2-0 and Finland 4-0, drew 1-1 with Slovenia and lost 1-3 to France.

Qatar overcame New Zealand (1-0) and Austria (2-0) in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively. DSP