Lucas Mendes delivered a last-gasp winner for Qatar as the back-to-back Asian champions defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Thursday and reignited their qualifying hopes for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mendes struck with 12 added minutes on the clock after Abbosbek Fayzullaev looked to have earned the visitors a point with a pair of headers that had cancelled out Almoez Ali’s first-half brace for Tintin Marquez’s side.

The result moved Qatar up to seven points from five matches, and to within three of Uzbekistan, who remain in second place in the group but are now three behind Iran following their 3-2 win over DPR Korea earlier in the day.

“We got three very important points by defeating Uzbekistan. We performed well and dominated in all aspects. We’d many opportunities in the first half and were able to score twice,” said Qatar coach Lopez. 

Almoez said: “It was a challenging game. We made it difficult for ourselves after taking a two-goal lead in the first half. Our performance dipped in the second half, but we made a strong comeback and scored a late winner. These are three precious points, and we hope to maintain our winning form. I want to congratulate and dedicate this win to the fans.”

Coming to the game, it was AFC Player of the Year Akram Afif who set Ali up in the 25th minute to open the scoring, rolling the ball into the striker’s path at the end of a break. While Utkir Yusupov made contact with the shot, there was enough pace on the ball to take it over the line.

Fayzullaev was denied an equaliser 10 minutes later when Qatar goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham denied the winger with a smart stop and before long the visitors were ruing that miss.

Because, with four minutes left in the half, the Afif-Ali combination paid off again to allow the hosts to double their advantage.

Afif curled a low ball invitingly towards the edge of the six yard box from a free kick 25 yards from goal and Ali emerged from between two Uzbekistan defenders to leave Yusupov helpless once more.

Azizbek Turgunboev thought he had pulled one back for Uzbekistan a minute before the interval when he unleashed a strike that was destined for the top corner, only for Barsham to spectacularly tip the ball over the bar.

Afif should have killed off the game in the 71st but his weak effort was easily dealt with by Yusupov and, with 15 minutes remaining, the unmarked Fayzullaev threw himself at Khojiakbar Alijonov’s inviting cross from the right to halve the deficit.

Five minutes later, Fayzullaev struck again, this time nodding home Jaloliddin Masharipov’s cross to spark scenes of jubilation on the Uzbekistan bench.

But there was more drama to come with Mendes smashing his late shot in via the post to win full points for Qatar.

Up next for Qatar are the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, while Uzbekistan will face DPR Korea.

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