Iran, appearing in its inaugural AFC Women’s Asian Cup, had the first look on goal in the third minute when Melika Motevalli almost caught Chinese Taipei napping but her powerful header was parried to safety by goalkeeper Cheng Ssu-Yu.
Lai Li-Chin netted a hat-trick with Chen Yen-Ping and Wang Hsiang-Huei scoring one each as Chinese Taipei sealed second place in Group A behind China to advance to the knockout stage.
Both teams, having suffered defeats against China, went into the tie fully aware that their respective fates were in their own hands, with Chinese Taipei only needing a draw to pip Iran to a quarter-final berth.