Media Wire

Iran 1 Hong Kong 0: Ghaedi books Iran’s Asian Cup knockouts spot

An unconvincing Iran toiled to a 1-0 win over Hong Kong at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Friday to progress to the knockout rounds of the 2023 Asian Cup.

On paper this fixture was among the biggest group-stage mismatches at the Qatar tournament, with Iran ranked 21st in the world to Hong Kong’s 150.

During the first half, Iranians dominated possession and were sharper in their attacks.

In the 24th minute, Mehdi Ghaedi put Iran ahead with an assist from Milad Mohammadi. Iran comfortably controlled the ball and went into halftime as the leaders.

The second half saw little change in the dynamics of the game, with Iranians maintaining ball possession and controlling the match.

Hong Kong managed only one shot in the second half and failed to create any significant goal-scoring opportunities.

Iran secured a minimal 1-0 victory, accumulating six points after two rounds and guaranteeing their place in the playoffs.

Hong Kong, who made their return to the Asian Cup after 56 years and are 129 spots below Iran in the rankings, remain winless and are bottom with no points after losing to UAE in their group opener.

Iran play UAE on Tuesday in their final group game which will effectively decide who tops the table and gets a more favourable draw in the knockout stage.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Iran Judiciary chief orders review of pardon request for 2 detained journalists

The spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary announced that two detained Iranian journalists, convicted of collaborating with…

8 hours ago

Iran hands death sentences to 3 Israel spies over their role in nuclear scientist assassination

An Iranian court has sentenced three individuals affiliated with Israel to death after they were…

12 hours ago

Iran says to respond to Israel’s assault at appropriate time

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has warned that Tehran will give a proper response…

12 hours ago

Judiciary: Jamshid Sharmahd dies before execution of death sentence

A spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary announced that Jamshid Sharmahd, leader of the “Tondar” terrorist group…

12 hours ago

Israeli PM considers offering millions to Hamas for release of hostages

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed offering Hamas “several million dollars” for each Israeli…

12 hours ago

Israel’s army struggling with shortage of soldiers: Report

Israel’s military is facing a critical manpower problem as it runs short of thousands of…

12 hours ago