CAFA Nations Cup:
Iran held by Tajikistan but advances to final showpiece
Iran relinquished a two-goal in the second half to share the spoils with cohost Tajikistan in a 2-2 draw at the CAFA Nations Cup in Hisor on Thursday.
The stalemate was still enough for Team Melli to finish atop the Group B table with seven points and progress to Monday’s final at the Olympic City Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Tajikistan, meanwhile, missed out on the third-place showdown after finishing third in the group table – equal on four points with second-placed India, which played to a goalless draw with Afghanistan earlier in the day.
Ittihad Kalba winger Mohammad-Mahdi Mohebbi bagged a second goal in his third international cap, finding the net from close range on the rebound in the 38th minute.
Rostov striker Mohammad Mohebbi surged forward down the left flank before slotting home from inside the box to double Iran’s advantage two minutes after the break.
A blunder by Payam Niazmand allowed Tajikistan to pull one back through Shahrom Samiev, whose tame effort slipped through the Iranian goalkeeper’s hands and crossed the goal line in the 57th minute.
Zoir Dzurboyev drew the home side level 20 minutes later, heading home Parvizdzhon Umarbayev’s cross from the edge of the six-yard box.
“We made it to the final, but we were far from perfect. we wasted too many chances after scoring the second goal and our intensity dropped. We became complacent, and that’s when we got punished by a single error. That incident turned the game on its head,” said Irania head coach Amir Qalenoei, who also blamed his senior players, as well as Uzbek referee Akhrol Riskullaev, for “making too many mistakes.”
Qalenoei still gave Niazmand his full support, saying: “Every great goalkeeper in the world makes mistakes. Tajikistan’s keeper was also at fault for the first goal. Payam is one of our best keepers and a huge asset between the posts alongside Alireza Beiranvand, and Seyyed Hossein Hosseini.”