Arizona, 25 July 2021 - Asian champions Qatar, who are the first nation to be invited as a guest team in the history of the tournament, survived a late comeback attempt from El Salvador to secure a 3-2 victory.
Al Moez Ali scored twice as Qatar became the first team to reach the semi-finals, holding on to beat El Salvador 3-2.
Abdelaziz Hatim also scored for the reigning Asian champions in the quarter-final clash in Arizona. Joaquin Rivas had both goals for El Salvador, who mounted a comeback in the second half.
Ali opened the scoring in the second minute by capitalizing on an El Salvador giveaway. Just six minutes later, Hatim hammered a right-footed shot into the goal to make it 2-0.
El Salvador were called for a handball in the 55th minute, which resulted in Ali scoring his second of the game from the spot to give Qatar a commanding three-goal lead.
But El Salvador were not about to go quietly as their comeback started in the 63rd minute when Amando Moreno made a touch pass to Rivas, who scored to cut the lead to 3-1.
Rivas scored again 11 minutes later with a left-footed blast after taking a pass from teammate Bryan Tamacas. El Salvador pressed for the equalizer in the final minutes but that was as close as they would get.
