Follow our updates from State Farm Stadium in Glendale as Qatar faces Honduras and Haiti faces Mexico in a Concacaf Gold Cup doubleheader on Thursday.
Qatar takes lead into halftime
Qatar lost 2-1 to Haiti on a late goal in its Gold Cup group stage opener, but the maroon-clad side is up 1-0 on Honduras on a header from Tamim Mansour in the seventh minute at State Farm Stadium. Mansour got space in the box and scored off a cross from Moustafa Meshaal.
Honduras has had more scoring chances but has been unable to put them away. The crowd was sparse at kickoff, but fans, mainly those in the green of Mexico, are making their way out of the heat to their seats.
Honduras has some good support in the stands, as several blue-and-white flags are being waved from the stands.
Interestingly, midfielder Yousuf Abdurisag is in Qatar’s lineup. Abdurisag was accused of using a racial slur to Michael Boxall of New Zealand, who is of Samoan heritage, during a friendly between the two teams earlier this month.
Abdurisag denied the saying anything offensive afterward, though New Zealand’s players did not come out for the second half of the match when officials took no action against Qatar for the alleged incident. Abdurisag has been with Qatar at the Gold Cup in the U.S. ever since, as the country’s soccer federation backed him.
It’s Gold Cup time in Glendale
The Concacaf Gold Cup doubleheader at State Farm Stadium is under way, with lineups announced for Qatar and Honduras.
Honduras lines up as follows:
Qatar, also looking for it first result from Gold Cup Group B play, has played in Glendale before. In July 2021, the eventual World Cup hosts defeated El Salvador 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup as an invited guest team.
Qatar lost 1-0 to the U.S. in the semifinals.
Forward Alberth Elis, who played with the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer, is the player to watch for Honduras. He plays professionally in France and much of the Honduras attack runs through him.
Elis had a great scoring chance blocked near the goal in the third minute of the match against Qatar.
Here is Qatar’s lineup. Both teams lost their openers in the Gold Cup and need three points from a win today.
What to know if you are going to Gold Cup matches in Glendale
The parking lots for the event at State Farm Stadium will open at 1:30 p.m. and the doors at the venue will open at 3 p.m.
The match between Qatar and Honduras is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m., while the even between Haiti and Mexico is set to start at 7 p.m.
Parking information at State Farm Stadium
It is recommended that fans purchase parking in advance through SeatGeek.com. Fans without pre-paid parking should arrive to any State Farm Stadium carpark and pay with credit or debit card ready. Cash is not accepted.
Parking at the stadium is $25 per vehicle if purchased in advance or $30 per vehicle if purchased upon arrival into lots.
Fan conduct at matches
All patrons must comply with the fan code of conduct, including the prohibition of discriminatory chants. Failure to do so could result in ejections and pausing, suspending, or concluding the match, in which case refunds will not be issued.
One of the things to watch will be if the largely pro-Mexico crowd behaves and refrains from shouting a word that is offensive to the LGBTQ community. While done in “fun” to razz the opposing team’s goalkeeper, the use of the word has also led to penalties against the the Mexican soccer federation and public service announcements from players urging fans to stop usage of the term.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Concacaf Gold Cup: Qatar vs. Honduras, Haiti vs. Mexico soccer scores