Iran defeat Syria on penalties to set up Japan quarter-final clash

Iran survived being reduced to ten men to defeat Syria 5-3 in a penalty shootout in the Asian Cup last-16 on Wednesday, after the game ended 1-1 after extra time, setting up a thrilling quarter-final affair against four-time champions Japan.

Syria's Fahd Youssef had his penalty saved by goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in the shootout, while Iran converted all of their spot kicks, with captain Ehsan Hajsafi scoring the winner.

Iran were one of three teams to finish the group stage with maximum points, and knockout stage debutants Syria had done well to contain them until they gave their Middle Eastern opponents a penalty in the first half.

Aiham Ousou deliberately barged into Mehdi Taremi without making an attempt to get the ball, and the Iranian striker stepped up to take the penalty, firing it into the bottom right corner for his third goal of the tournament.

Syria leveled when Pablo Sabbag came on as a substitute and immediately won a penalty after beating the offside trap and being fouled by Beiranvand, which Omar Khribin calmly slotted home to make it 1-1.

When Taremi was sent off for a second yellow card, Iran's situation deteriorated further. Taremi, who had already been booked for simulation, fouled Alaa Al-Dali, resulting in another booking and reducing Iran to 10 men for the final few minutes and extra time.

However, Iran held on and took the game to penalties, where they were unaffected by the pressure, extending coach Amir Ghalenoei's unbeaten streak to 15 games since taking over Team Melli in March of last year.

SportsLigue