By our man in Doha, Nov 18.25
DOHA, Qatar – Young Italy’s Azzurrini survived a terrifying knockout scare on one of the World Cup’s most UNUSUAL stages, edging a frantic 3-2 victory over a spirited Uzbekistan side in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Round of 16.
The drama unfolded, not in a dazzling World Cup stadium, but on the unglamorous Pitch 8 of the sprawling Aspire Zone sports complex in Doha.
The venue, a no-frills training field surrounded by the high-tech facilities of the Aspire Academy, was the backdrop for a five-goal thriller that had fans gasping for air.
While the colossal Khalifa International Stadium waits to host the final, this crucial knockout tie was settled on an artificial turf pitch that felt more like a training ground session than a world cup crunch match.
The less-than-glamorous location did nothing to dampen the action. Italy stormed into an early lead, looking every bit the tournament favourites they have been billed as.
But Uzbekistan, showing the ‘never-say-die’ spirit that has defined their impressive run, hit back hard, equalising before half-time in a massive shock.
The second half was a breathless end-to-end affair. Italy again took the lead, only for Uzbekistan to peg them back once more with a screamer that would have shaken the rafters of any stadium, let alone a low-key training pitch.
It took an 88th-minute thunderbolt from Italy’s starlet forward, Marco Rossi (who now bags the Sun Sport Goal of the Day!), to finally settle the contest.
The ball rifled past the Uzbek keeper, securing the 3-2 scoreline and sending the young Italians through to the Quarter-Finals.
The cheers of the celebrating Italian squad echoed across the quiet training grounds, a bizarre punctuation mark on a World Cup tie fought out away from the bright lights.
“It was a battle, a real battle, regardless of where we played,” beamed Italy’s coach. “Uzbekistan gave us everything. But our boys showed character.
They’ve earned their place on the big stage for the next round!”
While the victory was huge, the peculiar venue served as a stark reminder of Qatar’s compact tournament setup, where world-class talent is playing high-stakes football yards away from jogging tracks and medical centres.
