16 Jan 2016
Doha, 16 January 2016. Qatar’s U23 National Team moved one step closer to the knockout rounds of the AFC U23 Championship on Friday with an impressive 2-1 win over Iran at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium that sees them take command of Group A.
Ahmed Alaa-eldin and Abdelkarim Hassan claimed a goal in each half to secure all three points for the young Qatari side and leave Iran – who missed a penalty through Roozbeh Cheshmi – needing to win their final group game against China on Monday. Ali Karimi scored on the stroke of full-time for Iran, but it was not enough to deny the Qataris a deserved victory.
“Iran is a great team, one of the best in the competition, but I think we played a good game and we deserved the three points. To reach six points after two games is the best situation, but we’re still not qualified for the second round,” said Qatar coach Felix Sanchez.
Qatar’s next opponents on the road to Rio is Syria (Monday, January 18 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, kick-off at 7.30pm).
See the highlights of the game here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOO0OsssvfA&feature=youtu.be
U-23 AFC Championship, Matchday 2, Group A
Iran vs Qatar 1-2 (0-1)
Goals: Al Karimi (90´+1); Ahmed Alaa-eldin (35´), Abdelkarim Hassan (56’).
Source: www.the-afc.com