Iran and Palestine faced each other today, Saturday, November 14 , in the Basrah Tournament at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq. The match, officiated by referee Mohanad Qasim, ended in a 2–0 win for the new-look Team Melli side. Sardar Azmoun 77' and Saleh Hardani 84' scored the goals for Iran.
It was a hard-fought victory for the Palestine team, missing several players through injury, but an encouraging and much-needed win for Team Melli that gave five players their debuts.
A strong start for Iran:
In the 11th minute, Iran created their first serious chance when Jafar Salmani delivered a cross that found Denis Dargahi; however, his shot struck a Palestinian defender and failed to reach the goal. Shortly after, in the 19th minute, a dangerous cross from Salmani, following a well-worked play down the left flank, nearly resulted in a goal, but a timely sliding tackle by a Palestinian defender prevented Hosseinzadeh from scoring. Two minutes later, a shot by Aria Yousefi from inside the penalty area was saved by the Palestinian goalkeeper.
The goalpost came to Palestine’s rescue: Iran’s best opportunity of the first half arrived in the 25th minute, when a corner kick from Mohammad Javad Hosseinnejad was met by a header from Mohammad Ghorbani, only for the ball to strike the goalpost and stay out. Consequently, despite creating several significant chances—including hitting the woodwork—the Iranian national team remained goalless in the first half. Despite the near full control by Iran, the poor-quality finishing was telling.
An attacking start for Iran in the second half:
There were 5 substitution for the second half including the introduction of Sardar Azmoun. In the 47th minute, a cross from Ezatolahi into the penalty area was headed by Sardar Azmoun, setting up a scoring chance for Mohammad Mohebi; however, his attempt was kept out by the Palestinian goalkeeper, who cleared the ball away from the goal line. Three minutes later, Mohebi played a brilliant through ball to put Hosseinzadeh in a scoring position, but his shot narrowly missed the target, leaving Iran still unable to break through. In the 63rd minute, a dangerous cross from the left by Hossein Goudarzi was met by a header from Mohammad Mehdi Mohebi, but the ball went wide of the Palestinian goal.
Palestine reduced to 10 men:
A minute later, Amid Sawafta received his second yellow card for striking Ezatolahi in the face, resulting in his sending-off and leaving the Palestinian national team with 10 players on the pitch. Following this, Iran intensified its attacking pressure. In the 75th minute, a long cross from the right by Saleh Hardani was headed on by Amin Hazbavi toward Sardar Azmoun; however, the striker’s effort went just wide of the goal. Azmoun breaks the deadlock: Finally, in the 77th minute, the deadlock was broken. After some interplay by the Iranian players on the left flank, a short pass from Gholizadeh reached Hossein Goudarzi. Goudarzi delivered a precise cross, which Sardar Azmoun met with a firm side-footed strike, scoring Iran’s opening goal. Two minutes later, Afshin Sadeghi—showcasing some technical skill—set up Amir Mohammad Razaghi-Nia, but his shot went wide of the Palestinian goal. Hardani seals the deal: In the 84th minute, the Iranian national team launched another dangerous attack from the left. Following a sequence of play among the Iranian players, Hossein Goudarzi found himself in a position to cross and sent the ball into the Palestinian penalty area. Saleh Hardani, having positioned himself perfectly, struck the ball with the sole of his foot to score Iran’s second goal, extending the lead to two.