On the same day, in the quarterfinals of the men's Asian Cup held at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Iran and Syria drew 1-1 in regular time and extra time, and through penalty shootouts, Iran finally defeated Syria with an aggregate score of 6-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Syria's Omar Khribin (fourth from left) celebrates with teammates and fans after equalising from a penalty kick on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Syria's Allah Dali (front) attacks under Iran's Harizadeh on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Iran goalkeeper Ali Reza Berranvande (left) celebrates after a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
Iran's goalkeeper Ali Reza Berranvand after a penalty shootout victory on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Iran's Al Khaisafi celebrates after scoring a penalty shootout on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Syria's Ter Kruma (second from left) after losing a penalty shoot-out on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Iran's Ali Golizadeh (center) scrambles during a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
Syria's Omar Khribin celebrates after scoring a penalty on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Iran's Mehdi Taremi celebrates after scoring a penalty during a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
Iran's Saman Gudos (left) and Syria's Ibrahim Essar fight during a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Syria head coach Hector Cooper directs from the sidelines on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Iran's Gaedi (right) fights with Syria's Abdulrahman Weiss during a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han
Syria's Omar Khribin (right) steals Iran's Gaedi during a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue
Iran's Mehdi Taremi (right) hugs teammate Sarda Azmoun after scoring a penalty during a match on January 31. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han