Juventus and Al Jazirah met in the final group A fixture, with local fans watching closely and hoping for a surprise result that would send Aspire Qatar team to the semi-finals.
A draw or a win for Al Jazirah would have sent the Qatari team through, while only a win would have helped the Italian side, and with their opponents suffering two successive defeats since the tournament kicked off, it was the expected result.
Juventus made no mistake ending the first half 3-0 up, thanks to goals from Gabrielle Moncini (17’), Stefano Antezza (30’) and Federico Mattiello (44’).
Mattielo’s goal was one of the best in this tournament and was enough to get him the man of the match award for the second successive match. He broke inside the area with great skill before sending a powerful shot past the keeper.
However the second half was a different story, as Ahmed Rabia successfully converted a penalty three minutes after the break to reduce the deficit.
The local supporters kept on cheering the Emirati club till the final minutes as Mohamed Abdullah added a second for them four minutes from time. But it was not enough as the Italian hold on until the final whistle to go through.
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Ajax Amsterdam (4) Aspire International (0)
To book the last semi-final spot, Ajax Amsterdam needed a win with a margin of 4 or more goals when they faced Aspire International in the final group stage fixture.
Any other result would have meant that Vasco Da Gama will get through after they defeated Aspire International 4-1 in the opening match, and the game against Ajax Amsterdam ended in a 1-1 draw.
Impressive midfielder Branco Van Den Boomen put them in the lead after 17 minutes with a perfect header.
Minutes later he wasted a penalty and Aspire came close to an equalizer more than once but were unlucky as the first half ended with the Dutch’s slim lead.
Despite a number of brilliant saves from Aspire goalkeeper Ebenezer Dingong in the second half, Queensy Wensley netted a hat-trick to give Ajax Amsterdam the needed result. They will now face Juventus in the semi-finals on Sunday.
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