Iran U23 Open UAE to Three at Asian Games
Iran U23 took all three points against UAE U23 in the opening Group Stage match at the Asian Games on 16 September, winning 3:1. The visitors struck twice in the space of eight minutes after half-time to take control. By then the hosts had already seen their defender score against himself.
Iran opened the scoring in the 49th minute through P. Shahrabadi, who had been brought on just before half-time. The hosts responded quickly enough to level within four minutes, though the goal came through Y. Al Marzouqi's own net. To be fair, the UAE side pressed forward and created something.
M. Hunt restored Iran's lead in the 57th minute and that felt like the moment the match shifted. The visitors were already making changes to manage the game, with P. Shahrabadi and P. Latififar both replaced in the 69th minute. Three more substitutions followed for UAE in the 73rd minute, including J. Ndiaye who had picked up a yellow card 54 minutes earlier.
Y. Mazrae added a fourth goal in the 88th minute to kill any remaining hope of a comeback. Iran brought on K. Taheri in stoppage time as the hosts made their final change through Y. Al Marzouqi. The late goal extended Iran's positive start and left the visitors top of the group.
Statistics told a flat story. Both sides registered similar attack counts — 86 for UAE and 87 for Iran — though the visitors managed seven corners to four. Possession was evenly split at 49 per cent versus 51 per cent, but Iran's five shots on target produced three goals while UAE's three shots on target yielded just one. Shots accuracy sat at 0.26 for the visitors and 0.30 for the hosts.
The result puts Iran first in the group with three points from one game. UAE sit fourth with zero points after a defeat that follows a mixed recent run, including wins against Thailand U23 and Oman U23. The hosts cannot afford another slip if they want to progress.