AFC U17 Asian Cup:
Iranian young guns on the verge of World Cup berth after South Korea win
ran is 90 minutes away from securing a place at November’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup after a 2-0 victory over South Korea saw Hossein Abdi’s boys march into the last-eight round of the AFC U17 Asian Cup in Thailand – a first knockout spot for the 2008 champion since 2016, where Iran finished as the runner-up.
Having been held to a goalless stalemate by Qatar last time out, Iran started right on the front foot against Thursday’s opponent as Abdi’s team needed the maximum points to overtake the South Koreans for a top-spot finish in Group B.
The brave start paid off as two goals inside 90 seconds gave Iran a morale-boosting lead for the rest of the way against the team that came into the contest on the back of a tournament-high 10 goals, thanks to a 6-1 thrashing of Qatar a comfortable four-goal victory over Afghanistan.
Nima Andarz broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when his low drive from inside the box went underneath goalkeeper Hong Seong-min into the net.
A minute later, Esmaeil Qolizadeh’s backheel touch picked up Mahan Sadeqi, whose superb left-footed effort found the top corner to round off an Iran’s brilliant counter-attack.
The young winger became the sixth Iranian to find the back of the net in Thailand – no other team has had more different scorers.
“I told my South Korean counterpart before the kickoff that this is an early final and I believe it was probably one of the best games so far in the tournament,” Abdi said after the game.
“That’s the way we need to play in every match. Our gameplan was to harm them with quick attacks and score the first goal. We also managed to keep them at bay in every aspect of their game. I’m proud of what my players did tonight,” added the Iranian.
The result came after Iran had wasted a load of chances against Qatar and Abdi was thrilled to see how his team responded to the frustrating draw in style.
“I’ve been a coach long enough to know how to help the players recover both mentally and physically in these kinds of situations. It was hard to handle their stress for the game against South Korea as they are only a bunch of 16-year-olds and could easily be overwhelmed by emotions.
“I want the players at this age to enjoy the game. The result is not all that matters but it is important for them to give it all out for their best performance,” Abdi added.
Thursday’s triumph means Iran will play Yemen, which finished second to Thailand in Group A, in Sunday’s quarterfinal, while South Korea will face the host, which won the group with a perfect record.
“The players are so happy. When you analyze South Korea you see what a great team they are so it is normal for my players to be excited about the result. But we have a tough game ahead of us and anything can happen in there. We need to prepare properly, while enjoying the contest with a different tactic,” Abdi said.
The four semifinalists of the tournament will qualify for the U17 World Cup.