AsianCup2023 | Round Of 16 : Iran 1 (5) - (3) 1 Syria

Iran face Syria in the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium to cap off the last 16 stage of this year's Asian Cup. Team Melli finish top of Group C with maximum points and head into the knockout stages as one of the teams to beat in the competition. However, they face a team from Syria who only conceded one goal in Group B, finishing third, but with enough points on the board to move on to the next round for the first time in their history. Iran are without key defenders, Moarami and Kanani, so Cheshmi and Rezaian come into the back four. Gholizadeh makes way for Jean Bakhsh in midfield. Hector Cooper makes just one change to the side that beat India just over a week ago, with Omar Khurbin replacing Pablo Sabah to partner Ibrahim Hisar up front. Well, Iran have dictated the pace of this game. He's opening 20, 25 minutes or so. Khayyadi with a shot from just outside the box. Plenty of pace and power, not quite the accuracy that we could say by Mdenya. Whipped in with a real pace. Another save from Ahmed Mdenya. He's putting together a great display in goal for Syria. Just over half an hour gone. Again, coming forward. Taremi's gone down. Hayham also with a push in the striker's back, and it will be a penalty for Team Melik. Taremi with a chance to give Iran a lead. A lead they would deserve, and a lead they have under their belt now. Great penalty from the Porto striker. Iran with a 1-0 lead at the break. Iran looking for a second here. Ball to Sadr Azmoun. Stopped once, stopped twice. Great defending and goalkeeping from Syria yet again. A great corner, Azmoun with the header. He could easily have a hat-trick already, Sadr Azmoun. It's cleared off the line brilliantly. Oh, beautiful ball over the top from Kherbin. It's Sabahk. Sabahk goes down. Beiran Vant with the foul. He's only been on the pitch for two minutes and Sabahk has won his country a penalty. What a moment for Omar Kherbin to level things up here. Cool as a cucumber. The man with the captain's armband puts Syria back on level terms, and right back into this last-16 encounter. Time ticking away for Iran. It's a lovely little 1-2 chance here. And again the save by Ahmed Mdenia, this time to deny Goli Zadeh. It's injury time. Oh, Taremi, he's already on a yellow. And he's going to be given his marching order as Iran down to ten men. And that could spell trouble for Team Malik. Syria all of a sudden here with a chance to snatch it right at the end. Ball comes in, it's not dealt with. Scramble in the box here. It's last-ditch defending from Syria. Nothing to write home about after 30 minutes of extra time. We head into a penalty shootout. Iran lead 2-1. Fahd Youssef for Syria. Beyran Vant with the save. Guess it's the right way. It's not the best penalty. Chance now for Ehsan Haji Safi to send Iran through. And he hammers it into the top right corner. Team Malik hold on with ten men and scrape through to the quarter-finals on penalties after their toughest test in a long time against a resilient Syria who left everything out on the pitch. And things don't get any easier for Iran, who now face Japan in the next round of the Asian Cup.