Late drama sinks 10-man Iran U23 against Kyrgyzstan at Manas Cup
The Iranian under-23 side conceded twice deep into stoppage time to suffer a 2-1 defeat against Kyrgyzstan at the Manas Cup football tournament in Manas, Kyrgyzstan, on Saturday.
Iran went ahead in the 58th minute thanks to Mahdi Jafari’s sublime finish from the edge of the box, but was reduced to 10 men when substitute Mohammad-Javad Hosseinnejad was sent off for a harsh challenge with 14 minutes remaining.
Backed by the home support, Kyrgyzstan capitalized on the one-man advantage and found the equalizer through Marlen Murzakhmatov in the first minute of added time.
The home side completed the comeback in the 98th minute, thanks to Iranian goalkeeper Mohammad Khalifeh’s howler, as he failed to deal with Said Datsiev’s tame effort from distance, with the ball slipping through his hands and finding the back of the net.
This was the second consecutive defeat for Omid Ravankhah’s side at the four-team tournament, following a 2-0 setback against Russia on the opening day.
Iran will take on Bahrain in its final outing at the event on Tuesday.
The tournament is part of Iran’s preparation for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup, which will start on January 6 in Saudi Arabia.
On his debut on Iran’s bench, Ravankhah guided his team to an impressive first-place finish in Group I of the Asian Cup qualifiers in September, thanks to a clean sweep of three victories against Hong Kong (4-0), Guam (6-0), and the United Arab Emirates (3-2) in Abu Dhabi.
Iran has been drawn in Group C of the finals alongside Uzbekistan – last year’s runner-up – 2020 champion South Korea, and Lebanon.