Copy in clipboard...
AFC U20 Asian Cup:
Iran hit six past 10-man Yemen
Yemen settled the quicker and issued a warning in the second minute when Anwar Al Turaiqi set Mohammed Al Awami free in the centre, only for the midfielder to send his long-range effort over the bar.
Al Awami again found space at the top of the box before pulling his shot wide four minutes later, while Adel Qasem came close for Yemen two minutes later as he tried to catch Iran keeper Arsha Shakouri with a looping shot.
At the other end, Iran almost benefitted from a chance in the 10th minute when Mohammadhossein Sadeghi released a through ball for Reza Ghandipour, who set up Esmaeil Qolizadeh, only for Yemen keeper Osamah Mokref to intervene.
Yemen, however, found themselves in trouble in the 13th minute following Saeed Al Shaban’s red card with Iran then attacking in numbers with Mohammad Dindar, Ghandipour and Mobin Dehghan threatening.
Iran’s pressing play yielded the opener in the 26th minute after Abolfazl Zamani pounced on a loose ball at the top of the box before sending a stinging shot into the top left corner.
Zamani netted his second in the 34th minute after Yemen failed to deal with a cross from Yaqoob Barajeh, leaving the Iran No 16 to head home past a rooted Mokref.
Yemen fell further behind in the 42nd minute after Esmaeil Qolizadeh pounced on a poor pass from Ahmed Al Hajj before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner.
Yemen conceded the fourth following Mohammed Moqbel’s own goal, leaving the West Asian side on the ropes going into the break.
Iran stretched the lead a minute after the restart when Abbas Kahrizi sent a perfect cross for Ghandipour to nod home.
Yemen suffered further agony, conceding again in the 72nd minute after Nima Andarz supplied a cross for Abolfazl Zoleikhaei to finish with a close range diving header.
The victory left Iran, who had beaten Indonesia 3-0 in their opener, on top of the group table with six points, ahead of Wednesday’s game against defending champion Uzbekistan.
The top two in each group will progress to the last eight, with the four semifinalists qualifying for September’s under-20 World Cup in Chile.