3-2! The Persian Iron Riders missed the second and equalized the game, and joined hands with South Korea to go out and see Qatar enter the final
The semi-finals of the Asian Cup continued, with all eyes on Iran and Saudi Arabia, who stubbornly defeated top favourites Japan in the quarter-finals, and Saudi Arabia, who beat Uzbekistan on penalties to reach the semi-finals on a five-game winning streak. Iran is one of Qatar's nemesis, the two sides have faced each other in the past 10 times, the Persian Iron Cavalry has 6 wins and 4 draws to remain unbeaten! At the beginning of the game, Azmoun made a dream start with a wonderful barb, but Afif passed the power team to overtake, Jahanbakhsh hit a penalty, but Moez Ali won in the 82nd minute, Jahanbakhsh missed the second to equalize, Qatar reversed Iran 3-2 to advance to the final, and competed for the championship with the strongest dark horse Jordan.
In order to reach the final, the managers of both sides have no reservations. Iran set up a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Taremi returning from the ban and the likes of Azmoun, Gudos, Jahanbakh and Ezatorahi all in action. Qatar continued to form a 3-5-2 formation, with Afif and Moez Ali partnering up front and Al Haydos on the bench.
With the referee's whistle, Iran got off to a fantastic start. Only 3 minutes into the opening game, Jahanbakhsh throws a throw-in into the box, Taremi header is crossed, Azmoun grabbed the opponent to clear the ball is not clean enough, and the Persian Iron Rider leads 1-0.
In the 13th minute, Ezzatorahi instigated a counterattack with a long pass, Jahanbakhsh easily inserted a cross, and Taremi flanked and kicked in front of the goal, and Iran almost scored again.
4 minutes later, Afif unloaded the ball in the penalty area and turned to get rid of it, and then sent it back in an inverted triangle, Jassim met the ball and pushed the ball to Ezzatorahi to change the line, and fell directly into the dead corner, Qatar equalized, 1-1!
In the 32nd minute, Moez Ali instigated a counterattack with a direct pass, and Afif single-handedly advanced all the way to the penalty area, and his powerful shot was saved by Beiranvande, and he followed up with the follow-up shot, and Qatar almost overtook him.
In the 43rd minute, Fathi cut off the ball in the middle of the field, and Afif took the ball on the left side to challenge the Iranian defense, and cut inside to shoot straight into the corner, and Qatar still achieved a 2-1 reversal. In just 5 games, Afif has contributed 5 goals and 2 assists, which can be called Qatar's super thigh.
In stoppage time, Iran's corner kick opportunity, Hussein Kanani scrambled in front of the goal to push the spot, just hit Mendes, the Iranian players asked for a penalty, but VAR signaled no handball.
However, at the start of the second half, Fathi blocked Ezzatolahi's volley with his hand in the box, and the referee decided to award a penalty after reviewing VAR repeatedly. In the 50th minute, Jahanbakhsh scored a key penalty in two consecutive knockout games to help Iran equalize 2-2.
Over time, Iran relied on their superior physicality and impact to take over the game, constantly threatening with crosses from both flanks. In the 75th minute, Gudos crossed from the left, Rezayan crossed at the back point, Taremi got up and pushed the shot and was saved, Azmoun's header was re-shot, and the shot was blocked, and the wind in front of the Qatar goal.
In the 82nd minute, Halizadeh's header was not far away, Hatem volleyed outside the penalty area, Moez Ali stopped the ball, turned around and swung his leg on the spot to volley, VAR signaled not to be offside, Qatar led 3-2 again.
It was Moez Ali's 10th Asian Cup goal, which has already equalled South Korea's Lee Tong-kook and ranks second all-time, behind Daei with 14 goals.
In the 91st minute, Khalizadeh made a tactical foul and brought down Afif, and the referee canceled the yellow card and awarded a red card after watching VAR, leaving Iran with 10 men to fight.
In the 104th minute, Jahanbakhsh shot a one-handed shot at the neutral post, and Iran failed to complete the equalizer. Qatar withstood Iran's late comeback and defeated their opponents 3-2, ending a six-game losing streak against the Persian Knights, 16 years after the last defeat of Iran. In this way, Qatar has reached the final of the Asian Cup for two consecutive years, competing for the championship with Jordan, and is expected to defend the title.
Iran, on the other hand, have fallen in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup for the seventh time, failing to break through the semi-finals for the second time in a row, and their last title was 48 years ago.