Boualem Khoukhi's goal on header in stoppage time earns Qatar a 1-1 World Cup draw with Switzerland

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Qatar might be able to finally move forward from its forgettable home World Cup four years ago, scoring a stoppage-time goal to earn a shocking 1-1 draw with Group B favorite Switzerland on Saturday.

And oh, what a miss by the mighty Swiss.

One TV headline back home at French language public broadcaster RTS blared: “QATARSTROPHE.”

Boualem Khoukhi scored the equalizing goal on a header in the fourth minute of injury time to give Qatar its first-ever point at the World Cup in front of 67,966 spectators at Levi's Stadium.

“Every draw feels like a loss,” Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka said. “We're looking at ourselves. This performance was not good enough today to win.”

Several of the Qatari players fell to the ground in celebration of the late goal as others ran to each other to embrace.

“I was very proud about today ... our mentality, the discipline they showed today,” Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui said. “We needed to have our plan we needed to fulfill. We were a little bit lucky sometimes, but you need to believe and to want to have this belief and bit of luck in life and in football.”

Breel Embolo scored for Switzerland from the penalty spot in the first half just over a week after being cleared to enter the U.S. following a visa delay, but the Swiss failed to capitalize on multiple other scoring chances.

Switzerland midfielder Denis Zakaria was asked by RTS if the result was a devastating scenario.

“Clearly," he said. "We didn’t play the kind of match we needed to. We had so many chances and we missed so many in front of goal. Today we paid dearly.”

In the 13th minute, Embolo was fouled by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada, who received a yellow card on the play. Abunada lay face down and appeared motionless for a couple of minutes before he began to move his legs and was able to stand up again.

When Embolo calmly sent his penalty into the upper left corner in the 17th minute, it sent the red-clad Swiss fans into a dancing frenzy in the stands.

The 29-year-old forward applied for an urgent visa at the United States embassy in Bern on June 3, one day after he was denied boarding the team’s flight to travel for his third World Cup because of a 2018 criminal conviction that was only finalized in April.

Switzerland dominated the possession game on an unseasonably warm June afternoon — with sprinklers running during a first-half break.

There were thousands of empty seats scattered throughout Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. Brazil and Colombia drew 70,971 two years ago in a group match at Copa America. The stadium in Santa Clara staged the Super Bowl only four months ago.

Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made a save in the second minute after Edmilson Junior got through the defense for a one-on-one. Kobel corralled the ball again in the 90th on a close-range attempt by Ahmed Alaaeldin.

Switzerland is hoping to advance further than its round-of-16 showing four years ago before losing 6-1 to Portugal — when Goncalo Ramos delivered an improbable hat trick playing in place of benched star Cristiano Ronaldo. The loss prompted Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri to apologize the the fans.

The Swiss used consistency and experience to go unbeaten through qualifying against Sweden, Kosovo and Slovenia. Coach Murat Yakin's team produced four wins and two draws to secure its sixth straight World Cup appearance and hasn't missed one since 2002, but the team has never gotten beyond the quarterfinals.

Qatar had to qualify through a playoff in November — beating the United Arab Emirates and Oman — after missing an opportunity from its group stage in Asian qualifying.

The Gulf State country became the first host nation to lose all of its group matches four years ago. Qatar lost to Senegal, Ecuador and the Netherlands in the 2022 tournament, scoring its lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Senegal.

AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

Qatar's Mohamed Manai attempts to get the ball as Switzerland's Manuel Akanji defends during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

Switzerland's Zeki Amdouni reacts after the end of the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

Qatar's Pedro Miguel, yells as he celebrates after teammate Qatar's Boualem Khoukhi, scored his sides first goal during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

Switzerland's Nico Elvedi, right and Qatar's Karim Boudiaf, leap to head the ball during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

Switzerland's Ruben Vargas, left, in action against Qatar's Ahmed Fathy, right, during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (Peter Klaunzer, Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's head coach Murat Yakin, left, talks to his player Breel Embolo during a training session for the national soccer team, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in San Diego, ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (Peter Klaunzer/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Breel Embolo shoot and scores the opening goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

Switzerland's Breel Embolo is mobbed by teammates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Qatar and Switzerland in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

CHICAGO (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a perfect game after seven innings against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Yamamoto has seven strikeouts. He has thrown 89 pitches, 61 for strikes.

The Dodgers had a 5-0 lead going into the seventh.

Chase Meidroth had the best chance for a hit for the White Sox. He had a liner hook just foul before he struck out swinging for the final out of the fifth.

There was a short delay before the bottom of the sixth while the grounds crew worked on the area around the pitching rubber on the mound. But Yamamoto had no issues when the game resumed, striking out Jacob Gonzalez on a full-count cutter before Tristan Peters bounced to first and Edgar Quero fouled out to left.

Miguel Vargas used the ABS challenge system to overturn a called strike three before lining to left for the second out of the seventh.

The 27-year-old Yamamoto threw a season-high 107 pitches at San Diego on May 18. His career high is 113 against Cincinnati during last year's playoffs.

Yamamoto is in his third season with Los Angeles. He was the World Series MVP last year, helping the Dodgers win their second consecutive championship.

He is in the middle of a sharp stretch for the NL West leaders. He was 3-1 with a sparking 0.99 ERA in his last four starts coming into the day.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, of Japan, delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)