Match Report
In the standings it was Northern Ireland 40th on 4 points, Qatar 6th on 6 — separated by 2. On recent form Qatar sat only 75th league-wide over the last five rounds, well short of their 6th overall. Against a league average of 1.26 goals per team per game, Northern Ireland ran at 0.67 scored and 0.67 conceded, Qatar at 2.5 and 0.
Qatar's unbeaten run stood at 8, having scored in 8 consecutive games. Recent form was uneven: 6/15 points for Northern Ireland, 13/15 for Qatar.
Alexandra Stadium, capacity 10,153, hosted the game. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 0-0 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 1-1.
Goal scorers
Northern Ireland: Stuart Dallas (46') · Qatar: Karim Boudiaf (70')