Semifinals Of The 2023 Asian Cup: Qatar Overthrow Iran 3-2

Qatar advances to the 2023 Asian Cup final (Instagram/@qfa).

JAKARTA - The host Qatar managed to secure a ticket to the 2023 Asian Cup final after overthrowing Iran with a score of 3-2 at Al Thumama Stadium, Wednesday, February 7, 2024, WIB night.

Appearing in front of the public itself, Qatar faced fierce resistance from Iran. They even fell behind when the game had only been running for four minutes.

ARD Azmoun opened Iran's lead with a corner after Pedro Miguel's sweep failed.

Qatar immediately responded. Iran's advantage lasted only 13 minutes. The hosts equalized in the 17th minute starting from Akram Afif's action.

Afif penetrated Iran's defense before releasing the bait. The operan was then struck by Jassem Gamber with a long-range hard kick that shook Alireza Beiranvand's goal net.

Iran, which is more dominant in controlling the game, is trying to find another advantage, but some of their efforts failed.

Instead, Qatar turned to lead two minutes before halftime. Again, it started with Afif's action from the left side of the attack.

The winger's acceleration was intercepted by four Iranian defenders, but he managed to shoot. His shot headed towards the right corner of the Iranian goal and could not be driven away by Beiranvand.

The 2-1 score for Qatar lasted until the first match was over.

Continuing to the second half, Iran immediately took the initiative to attack for equalizer goals. Their efforts immediately paid off in the 49th minute.

The referee pointed to the spot after Ahmed Fathi was caught handball in the penalty box. Alireza Lihbakhsh successfully carried out his duties and managed to outwit Mershaal Barsham.

The match was getting fiercer and the intensity increased after the score 2-2. Qatar had the opportunity to win again through Yusuf Abdurisag in the 53rd minute.

However, that opportunity could still be denied by Beiranvand. The next golden opportunity was born through Almoez Ali's header in the 72nd minute, but again, the Iranian goalkeeper was able to secure it.

Iran is not without a chance. They had a chance through Azmoun who almost scored the second goal in the 75th minute. However, Boualem defender Khoukhi managed to thwart the effort swiftly sweeping the ball before the ball crossed the Qatar line.

At the end of the second half, Qatar managed to take advantage of Iran's negligence. Abdulaziz Hatem initially fired a long-range shot.

However, the ball headed towards Almoez Ali in the penalty box. He calmly shot into the corner of Iran's goal until he finally made Beiranvand pick up the ball.

The goal caused debate because Almouz was thought to have been offside when he received the ball from Hatem. Luckily, after a review of the video assistant referee (VAR), Almouz was declared onside so that the goal was passed.

Judging by the running low time, Iran is aggressively bombarding the Qatar defense to make it even. However, disaster actually happened to them in the second half injury time.

Shojae Khalilzadeh was given a direct red card for violating Afif in the 90+3 minute.

The incident began when Iran focused on finding goals. Unexpectedly, Qatar could take over possession and launch a counter-attack when Iran's defenses are off guard.

Afif penetrated alone quickly. As he approached the Iranian goal, Khalilzadeh had to violate Afif to thwart Qatar's golden opportunity.

After playing with 10 players, Iran became increasingly difficult to find an equalizer. In the remaining 12 minutes of injury time, they failed to score.

As a result, Qatar successfully secured the ticket to the 2023 Asian Cup final with a 3-2 victory. The victory brought the hosts to meet Jordan in the top match.

This is the second consecutive final for Qatar. Previously, they advanced to the final party which ended in the 2019 Asian Cup winners.

This means that Qatar has a chance to defend its trophy in the 2023 Asian Cup edition.