Emirates held to draw against Syria in World Cup qualifier

faced Syria in their second match of the final round of the AFC World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday. Having dropped two points in their goalless draw against Lebanon on home soil, Emirates were eager to get their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track. 

Emirates started the game with confidence and scored the opener in the 12th minute. Following a searching cross from Fabio Lima, Syria goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma rushed to the ball inside the box but failed to control it.

Ali Mabkhout

found himself in the perfect situation to use the rebound, converting Alma’s blunder into Emirates’ opening goal.

Syria intensified their efforts to get the equalizer toward the end of the first half, but they were not able to convert their chances. The Syrians’ best chance came in the 35th minute when a cross from the left side of the box found 

in the six-yard box. The Al-Wahda striker tried to slot the ball into the bottom right corner of the net, but the shot just missed the near post.

The pace of the game dropped significantly at the start of the second half. Syria continued their attacks to equalize the game, but they remained cautious of Emirates’ counter-attacks. However, it did not take long for the Syrians to change the rhythm of the game.

Nizar Mahrous’ side scored the equalizer four minutes after the hour-mark. Following a poor clearance from Thaer Krouma,

volleyed the ball into the bottom far corner of the net to make it 1-1. 

Syria pushed to get the match-winner after the equalizer, but they were not able to get past Emirates’ backline and the match ended in a draw.

Having collected two points in their first two matches, UAE are sitting in third place on the Group A table. On the other hand, Syria have found themselves at the bottom of the table with one point from their two games.

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