Afif then scored with a wonderful strike minutes before half-time, only for Iran to equalise through a Jahanbakhsh penalty early in the second period
Qatar’s Akram Afif celebrates scoring against Iran. Pic/AFP
Goal-scorer Akram Afif said “the best is yet to come” after hosts and holders Qatar squeezed into an Asian Cup final against Jordan with a dramatic 3-2 win over Iran on Wednesday.
Almoez Ali struck in the 82nd minute in Doha to send Qatar into their second consecutive final, further exorcising the demons of their first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup.
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Qatar lost all three of their World Cup games on home soil just over a year ago, the worst record of any host in the competition’s history. But that was all a distant memory as they celebrated in front of over 40,000 fans after a breathless semi-final at Al Thumama Stadium.
“This victory was not easy,” said Afif, who scored his fifth goal of the tournament to give Qatar a half-time lead. “We are very proud of ourselves and our fans. They deserve tonight’s win and hopefully the best is yet to come.”
Iran had Shojae Khalilzadeh sent off in injury time before an ugly confrontation between both sets of players flared after the final whistle. Sardar Azmoun gave Iran the lead in the fourth minute before Qatar equalised soon after when Jassem Gaber’s shot went in via a heavy deflection.
Afif then scored with a wonderful strike minutes before half-time, only for Iran to equalise through a Jahanbakhsh penalty early in the second period.
Match-winner Ali scored an Asian Cup-record nine goals to lead Qatar to the 2019 title, but he had managed only one heading into the semi-finals of this year’s tournament. His late strike was worth the wait for Qatar, who will now try to beat Jordan in Saturday’s final for their second Asian title.
Meanwhile, Son Heung-min was supposed to have been the star of the show in the semi-finals, but instead it was Mousa Al-Tamari whose sparkling display fired Jordan to the brink of Asian Cup glory.
The pacy 26-year-old made one goal and scored the other as Jordan saw off Son’s South Korea 2-0 to surge into Saturday’s final for the first time in their history.
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