Qatar edged closer to a place in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Iran at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday. Goals on either side of the break saw the hosts claim a morale-boosting victory in what was a keenly contested encounter which even saw Iran miss a penalty.
The match began in a frenetic note, similar to Qatar’s opening encounter against China. And mirroring that match, this one too saw Iran being the dominant side during the initial stages of the match. It took the home side about a quarter of an hour to settle down and find their rhythm.




Iran were dominating possession but were unable to find the bite in the final third. Qatar were soaking up the pressure and looking to attack on the counter and that is how the first goal of the match was scored.
Akram Afif launched a long ball from the deep which Ahmed Ala latched onto and scored with a great left-footed finish in the 35th minute. Ala was rewarded with a start in this match after his goal as a substitute against China. And he didn’t disappoint coach Felix Sanchez on this decision. Afif and Ala had combined for that goal in the China match too. The pass from Afif was something that Al Sadd’s Xavi, who was watching from the stands, would be proud of.  
Both teams had a chance apiece as the first half drew to a close but for Qatar’s Ali Asad had his shot saved by Iran keeper Mohammadreza Akhbari while Iran’s Arsalan Motahhari fired his header over the bar.
Iran started the second half with even more determination than they had done in the first. Motahhari was again the threat but Qatar keeper Muhannad Naim was able to save his shot from the near post.
The visitors were again dominating possession and while they did play a lot of the match in the Qatar half, that didn’t translate into any real threatening chances. Qatar, on the other hand, were looking dangerous whenever they went on the offensive. In the 56th minute, Abdelkariim Hassam scored the second goal for Qatar off a corner. It was clever goal which saw the Qatar skipper lose his marker and then tap it in to double his team’s advantage.  
Qatar scored this goal just when Iran were looking dangerous and it put the home side back on top again. In the 67th minute, Iran finally seemed to get a break when Qatar defender Ahmed Yasser conceded a penalty. But skipper Cheshmi saw Qatar keeper Naim guess the direction correctly and produce a great save.
Iran had a few more attempts, a goalmouth scramble in the 88th minute where they attempted three shots but still couldn’t score. Two minutes later they reduced the deficit through Ali Karimi but the two minutes of added time weren’t enough for them to find an equaliser.
Iran had 12 attempts on goal but only three were on target while Qatar had just four but all were on target.  
The clash against Iran was supposed to be Qatar’s toughest in Group A and they have emerged with flying colours and will be feeling confident going into their final group match against Syria which will be held on Monday. Qatar now have six points from their two matches but with two other teams at three points – Syria and Iran, the hosts will have to beat Syria to ensure that they top the group and get an easier opponent in the quarters.
“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.
“It was a tough game from the beginning. 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. Now is the time to enjoy it because we have our final [group stage] game in three days.”
Meanwhile Iran coach said that he was proud of his players despite the defeat. “We dominated the game but at the end they’re not going to give any points to the better players, but to the team that scores the most goals,” said Iran coach Mohamed Khakpour.
“My captain, I’m really proud of him and the other players because they did their best, they were putting 100 percent into the game and missing the penalty is just part of the game. It happens and many great players in the world have missed penalties.
“But I’m so proud of them because they played a great game tonight. They sacrificed for each other and that’s good enough for me.”
Related Story