Riyadh: Leonardo Shahin scored from the spot to give Lebanon a 1-0 win over Iran in their concluding AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026™ Group C match on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s first win of their campaign dashed Iran’s hopes of making the quarter-finals as the Central Asian side finished bottom of the standings on two points, with Uzbekistan and Korea Republic advancing.
Lebanon settled first, with midfielder Ali El Fadl capitalising on an early mistake by the Iran defence but sending his attempt wide from outside the area.
Iran, however, gradually took control, with Hamidreza Zaruni curling his shot past the left post and Pouria Latififar, Yadegar Rostami and Mehdi Mahdavi all skying their efforts from distance.
The West Asian side had a fair share of the action, forcing Iran keeper Mohammed Khalifeh to save from Mahmoud Zbib in the 25th minute and Mohamad Safwan’s looping shot from the left taking a deflection to land on the top of the netting.
Iran’s Farzin Moamelehgari came closest to ending the stalemate in the 38th minute when his point-blank header off a Zaruni corner crashed off the crossbar, bringing to an end a half that showed plenty of attacking intent but no goals.
Group C: IR Iran v Lebanon
Play continued at a fast pace after the break, with Lebanon breaking the goal drought after a handball by Reza Ghandipour 10 minutes in, with Shahin sending Mohammed Khalifeh the wrong way from the penalty spot for his fourth goal of the competition.
Iran almost replied in the 60th minute when MohammadHossein Sadeghi’s cracker of a shot from 18 yards crashed off the underside of the crossbar while at the other end, Mohammed Khalifeh prevented Lebanon from going further ahead with a fine save from a close-range Ali Kassas header.
Iran sent on three pairs of fresh legs in search of the equaliser, and substitute Masoud Mohebbi would have thought he had secured it in the 83rd minute only for his goal to be ruled offside.
Lebanon keeper Shareef Azaki, standing in for Anthony Maasry, was kept busy in the closing minutes as Iran intensified their efforts, but poor finishing brought an end to their hopes of making the knockout stage.
MATCH STATS
| Iran | 0 | – | 1 | Lebanon |
| Iran 1 Mohammad Khalifeh GK 3 A. Vosoughifard DF, 4 Danial Iri DF 6 A. Razzaghinia MF 7 Reza Ghandipour FW, 8 P. Latififar 46’ MF 9 Y. Rostami 75’MF 13 M. MahdaviDF 14 F. Jafari 72’MF 16 F. Moamelehgari DF 21 H. Zaruni 72’MF Substitutes 15 M. Mohebi 72’Sub 17 E. Jamshidi 75’Sub 18 A. Sheikhi Rad 46’54’Sub 19 M. Goudarzi 72’Sub 23 M. Sadeghi 54’Sub Manager-Omid Reza Ravankhah | Lebanon 1 Shareef AzakiGK 2 Ali Alrida IsmailDF 3 Jad SmairaDF 5 Mohammad SafwanDF 7 Mahmoud Zbib 31’MF 8 Ali El Fadl 90+6’MF 11 Ali Kassas 78’FW 14 Hassan Fouani 11 ‘78’MF 15 Ibrahim ChamiDF 19 Leonardo Farah Shahin 56’78’MF 20 Nour Aoude 64’MF Substitutes 6Mohamad Ghamlouch 78’Sub 9 Hassan Bazzi 78’Sub 10 Mohamad Sadek 64’Sub 16 Khoder Kaddour 78’Sub 18 Danny Istambouli 31’68’Sub Manager-Jamal Taha |