Iranian footballers claim WAFF U-23 Championship title
Iran national under-23 football team has been awarded the 2015 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship in the Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar following a thrilling victory over the Syrian side.
The match staged at the Lekhwiya SC Stadium in the Qatari capital city of Doha on Wednesday evening was a lukewarm encounter for the first quarter as both teams struggled to create scoring chances.
In the 17th minute, the referee disallowed Syria’s goal because the Arab team’s player had been in the offside position.
The rest of the first half failed to produce clear-cut chances, with both Iranian and Syrian outfits failing to break each other. The match went for a breather with the teams locked at 0-0.
Iranian soccer players came out strong in the second half, where Alireza Naghizadeh was on target in the 58th minute to strike a fine shot at Syria’s goalpost and open up the scoring.
Iran then held on their 1-0 lead despite some fight back from Syrian footballers. The Syrians found a golden opportunity in the 79th minute to hold the Persians to a 1-1 draw, though they simply squandered it.
Arsalan Motahari doubled Iran’s lead a minute later, and the Syrian national under-23 football team conceded to a 2-0 defeat at last.
Earlier on Wednesday, the hosts routed the Yemeni football team 3-0 in the third place match.
In a strange move, the 46-year-old head coach of Iran national under-23 football team, also known as Iran Olympic Team, Mohammad Khakpour, announced his resignation.
The 2015 WAFF U-23 Championship, which was the first edition of its kind, opened in Doha, Qatar, on September 30, and finished on October 14.
The competition was a warm-up for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, also due in Qatar.
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