Abu Dhabi: Five second-half goals steered Iran to a comfortable 6-0 win over Guam in their penultimate Group I clash in the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Saturday.

Iran beat Hong Kong, China 4-0 in their opener and will play the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday in what will be a top-of-the-table clash.

Guam 0-6 IR Iran

Despite dominating ball possession from the start, the Central Asian side only opened accounts in the 42nd minute through Alireza Safari.

Guam, who had no shots on target in the first half, conceded a second goal a minute after the restart when Kasra Taheri put the ball past keeper Josiah Jones.

Taheri, who came on at the start of the second half, fired home IR Iran’s third in the 74th minute and completed his hat-trick five minutes later.

Saeid Saharkhizan put his name on the scoresheet in the 84th minute, with captain Mohammad Javad Hosseinnezhad completing the scoring in the 90th minute.