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The Qatar Cup Final Between Al-Wakrah and Al-Rayyan

Al-Wakrah and Al-Rayyan reached the 2024 Qatar Cup final.

Al-Wakrah advanced after a thrilling 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Al-Sadd, following a 2-2 draw in regular time. Al-Rayyan secured their spot with a 2-1 win over Al-Gharafa in the semi-finals. The competition features the top four teams in the league.

In the first semi-final, Al-Wakrah, who are ranked fourth in the league, equalized after being two goals down in the first half against Al-Sadd, the reigning champions. This forced a penalty shootout, which they won, setting up a final clash with Al-Rayyan.

Al-Sadd took an early lead with a goal from their star player, Akram Afif, in the 12th minute, assisted by Paulo Otavio. Gonzalo Plata doubled the lead for Al-Sadd in the 27th minute, converting a pass from Abdullah Al-Yazidi. However, Al-Wakrah responded strongly in the second half, scoring through Ayoub Assaleh in the 73rd minute, assisted by Nasser Al-Yazidi.

In the last moments of regular time, with Al-Sadd seemingly set for victory, Jassinto Dala unleashed a powerful shot, from outside the box, that hit the crossbar and went into the net in the 90+3 minute, sending the match to penalties. Al-Wakrah's young goalkeeper, Amir Abdullah, was the hero, saving two penalties to secure their spot in the final, despite Al-Sadd’s Meshal Barshim saving one penalty.

Al-Rayyan takes revenge against Al-Gharafa

In the second semi-final, Al-Rayyan avenged their league defeats to Al-Gharafa, winning 2-1 and knocking them out of the Qatar Cup. Moroccan star Ashraf Ben Sharqi was the hero for Al-Rayyan, scoring both goals in the 78th and 87th minutes. Sidy Sarr scored the lone goal for Al-Gharafa in the 69th minute.

Al-Rayyan dominated the first half, with Rodrigo Moreno scoring a goal that was disallowed after a VAR review in the 28th minute. Al-Gharafa took the lead early in the second half through Sarr, capitalizing on a mistake by Al-Rayyan's goalkeeper Fahd Younis. Ben Sharqi equalized for Al-Rayyan in the 78th minute from a corner kick by Rodrigo Tabata.

Al-Gharafa thought they had regained the lead in the 81st minute through Ahmed Alaa, but the goal was disallowed for handball. In their search for a comeback, Al-Gharafa conceded a counterattack, leading to a goal by Moreno, who sent a cross that the goalkeeper Khalifa Abu Bakr failed to clear, allowing Ben Sharqi to score with a beautiful back-heel finish (87th minute).

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