National cup

National stadium
Spectators: 14377 (Terracing: 10000, Seating: 4027, VIP seats: 350) 3 minutes into the match, United Arab Emirates's Morjan Sarkhoh sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Ariel Balboa narrowly saved just below the crossbar. The audience was convinced that Valentine Hernandez's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Morjan Al Sayer was relentless in the 5th minute of the game. 6 minutes into the match, Paraguay's goal looked a bit too open when Morjan Sarkhoh came free, but Ariel Balboa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Paraguay's Gervasio Pavieta got a good chance for a goal in the 8th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 11 minutes into the match, Morjan Sarkhoh had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ariel Balboa. Paraguay's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Morjan Sarkhoh was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. A sloppy throw-in by Darweesh Al Matrok in the 16th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Paraguay's Cresenciano Secada. In the 19th minute the ball was on its way in behind United Arab Emirates's goalkeeper Morjan Al Sayer, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Ariel Balboa didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Morjan Sarkhoh went, in the 20th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-2 was the resulting score. When Valentine Hernandez came up free with the goalie in the 26th minute, the Paraguay fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Valentine Hernandez couldn't finish the play. Darweesh Al Matrok hit a great freekick 27 minutes into the match. In the 28th minute, Valentine Hernandez ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Morjan Al Sayer was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-2. Ariel Balboa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Haider Baroun, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. Valentine Hernandez's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Morjan Al Sayer read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 35th minute of play. Morjan Al Sayer showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Valentine Hernandez in the 39th minute of the match. United Arab Emirates's Morjan Al Sayer played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Valentine Hernandez in the 42nd minute of play. Morjan Sarkhoh's late challenge caught a Paraguay's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Morjan Sarkhoh helped the player get up and apologised. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 1-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The wind increased when Morjan Sarkhoh made the kick off in the second half. Ariel Balboa made a fantastic save in the 52nd minute, when Morjan Sarkhoh sent off a good shot on target. 56 minutes into the match, Paraguay's goal looked a bit too open when Morjan Sarkhoh came free, but Ariel Balboa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. United Arab Emirates's Morjan Al Sayer played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Valentine Hernandez in the 58th minute of play. Valentine Hernandez's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Morjan Al Sayer read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 61st minute of play. United Arab Emirates made a substitution. Nader Abol replaced Darweesh Al Matrok. United Arab Emirates's Kamal Al Barrak was substituted for Abdelnaser Al Balool. United Arab Emirates made a substitution. Salim Al Saleh replaced Mortada Al Mothaf. Morjan Sarkhoh recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 69th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Paraguay's Guillelme Lomas was substituted for Denis Inestrosa. In the 75th minute, Nemir Al Hammady hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Morjan Al Sayer took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Valentine Hernandez, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 79th minute, United Arab Emirates's Morjan Sarkhoh dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-3. Ariel Balboa made an important save on a dangerous shot by Morjan Sarkhoh in the 83rd minute. After having played for 86 minutes, Cresenciano Secada managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Paraguay's supporters crossed their fingers, but Cresenciano Secada was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. United Arab Emirates's Morjan Al Sayer played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Valentine Hernandez in the 89th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 93rd minute, Morjan Sarkhoh managed to get in a good position for a shot. United Arab Emirates's supporters rose to their feet, but Morjan Sarkhoh was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ariel Balboa breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Although Paraguay had been in control for most of the match, United Arab Emirates still came away with the win.