Qatar made it two wins out of two in the 2016 AFC U23 Championship by beating Iran 2-1 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.Ahmed Alaa put the host nation in front in the 34th minute before Abdelkarim Hassan doubled the advantage in the second half.
Iran missed a penalty through Roozbeh Cheshmi before grabbing a consolation through Ali Karimi.
Iran will need to win their final group game against China on Monday to have a chance of qualifying for the last eight. Qatar meanwhile need just a point from their match against Syria to guarantee qualification for the knockout rounds.
The host nation took the lead in Al Sadd after dominating the opening exchanges. Akram Afif’s clever pass put Alaa through on goal, and he slipped his shot through Mohammadreza Akhbari’s legs to score.
Iran improved slightly after the break and home goalkeeper Muhannad Naim had to be alert to save Arsalan Motahhari’s shot from a tight angle.
But Qatar continued to look the most likely in the final third, and grabbed a second from a corner. Hassan expertly lost his marker before side-footing Ahmad Moein’s centre into the bottom corner.
Motahhari did his best to get Iran back in the match and twice went close with headers before winning a penalty after being brought down by Ahmed Yasser. But Iran’s captain Cheshmi saw his 12-yard effort saved by Naim, who dived to his right to push the ball to safety.
Iran continued to press in the final stages of the game but only managed a consolation in the 90th minute when Karimi slotted past Naim.
The home crowd would not be denied their victory celebrations and qualification for the quarter-finals remains in Qatar’s hands.
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