Iran Advances to 2023 AFC Asian Cup Knockout Stage with Perfect Record
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Mehdi Taremi double earned the Iran football team a 2-1 win over the UAE in Group C of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup at Education City Stadium on Tuesday.
Taremi opened his Qatar 2023 account in the 25th minute, moving behind the Emirati defense to take advantage of an intelligent Sardar Azmoun pass before coolly slotting home.
VAR ruled out two of Iran’s goals scored by Ali Gholizadeh and Mohammad Mohebi.
It was the UAE who had the best chance of the early proceedings of the second period when Yahya Al Ghassani was brought down inside the box by Hossein Kanaani. Al Ghassani stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but his attempt was saved by an excellent diving save from Alireza Beiranvand.
Iran’s star duo Azmoun and Taremi combined again to make it 2-0 in the 65th minute when the AS Roma forward cut inside and fed his teammate with a well-weighted pass and Taremi emphatically converted into the roof of the net to double Team Melli’s advantage.
Al Ghassani made up for his missed penalty kick with a decisive goal in added time of the second half as he broke free down the left, cutting inside on his right foot and finding the far corner with his finish to half the deficit.
Team Melli is scheduled to meet Syria on January 31, while UAE plays Tajikistan three days earlier.
