Team Melli qualified for the AFC Asian Cup the for a record 13th time when they defeated Lebanon 4-1 in Beirut.
In a match overshadowed by a terrorist attack earlier that day in south of Beirut near the Iranian Embassy , which prompted the authorities to ban the spectators from entering the stadium fearing more attacks.
Carlos Queiroz opted to start this match with a different line up, with Teymourian, Jabbari, Hajsafy and Montazzeri being rested. Alireza Jahanbakhash who scored Iran's 3rd goal against Thailand, earned himself a starting role and looked quite lively on the right. The young player had a couple of good runs on the Lebanese defenders..
The first half ended 0-1 in the first half, Team Melli going ahead late in the half (minute 38) when central defender Amir Hossein Sadeghi towered over all the Lebanese defenders to head home from Masoud Shojaei's corner.
In the second half, the floodgates opened early, when Ashkan Dejagah volleyed powerfully from a nice footwork on the right flank by Reza Ghoochannejad in minute 50.
4 minutes later , Masoud Shojaei was fouled by the Lebanese defender Ali Hammam in the penalty box.
The Chinese referee had no hesitation whistling for a penalty which Captain Nekounam scored recording his 37th career goal for Team Melli.
The rout ended in the 63rd minute when the prolific Reza Ghoochannejad continued his amazing scoring record for Team Melli by scoring Iran's 4th goal from an assist by Shojaei.
With the match in the bag, Queiroz made three substitution including bringing in Maziyar Zare to play as a central defender in place of Hosseini. Although Iran had more of the ball against a demoralized Lebanese team, there were many moments of slack passing by Iranian players and some complacency started developing.
However, it was poor coverage and the ease of dribbling past defenders that allowed Lebanon to score a consolation goal late in the match.
Lebanese winger Mohammed Haider went past 2 defenders with alarming ease before selling Beitashour short with a smart turn and shooting past Davari in an acute angle. The German-Iranian goalkeeper, starting his second game who had very little work to do during the whole match, failed to close and advance on the winger which enable him to slot the ball on the far corner.
Overall. it was a clinical performance by Team Melli , and except for the only goal scored conceded and some lazy and inaccurate passing , Team melli played one of it better games under Queiroz despite the concerns over security and the difficult circumstances off the field. Alireza Jahanbakhsh was quite promising with his runs on the flank. In his first start for the team , the ex Captain of Iran’s youth team , did not shy away from taking on defenders.
Iran, leading the table with 13 points after 5 matches, has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2013 , along with Kuwait which defeated Thailand 3-1 in a match player in Kuwait at the same time.
Asian Cup 2015 (Qs) MD5: Lebanon 1-4 Iran
- Published on Wednesday, 20 November 2013 02:09
Beirut: Three-time champions Iran confirmed their place at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup after ending Lebanon’s qualification hopes following a convincing 4-1 win in Group B on Tuesday.
Amirhossein Sadeghi opened the scoring just before half-time at Sports City Stadium before Askhan Dejagah, AFC Player of the Year nominee Javad Nekounam and Reza Ghoochannejhad struck in the second half as Iran unbeaten Iran recorded a fourth win five games.
And with Kuwait beating Thailand 3-1, Lebanon saw their hopes of a first AFC Asian Cup appearance since hosting the 2000 edition ended following a second defeat in Group B despite Mohamad Haidar’s late consolation.
Iran only needed to avoid defeat to seal their qualification, but took the lead six minutes before half-time as Sadeghi powered home an unstoppable towering header from a left wing corner.
And the visitors doubled their lead five minutes into the second half as Ghoochannejhad played a pass across the edge of the penalty area and Dejagah beat Lebanon goalkeeper Abbas Hassan with a composed first time finish.
Iran added a third four minutes later as Masoud Shojaei was pulled back by Ali Hamam inside the area and Nekounam confidently sent Hassan the wrong way from the resulting penalty.
And Iran’s fourth arrived four minutes after the hour mark as Shojaei’s deft chip played in Ghoochannejhad and the Belgium-based forward skipped past Hassan before poking the ball home from inside the six-yard area.
But despite seeing their qualification hopes ended, Lebanon’s night did end of a high note courtesy of Haidar superb individual goal with 11 minutes remaining.