Iran under-23 football squad stomps Turkish team in friendly
Iran’s national under-23 football team has thrashed its opposite side in a warm-up match for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in the Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar early next year.
The Iranian squad, also known as Iran U-23 or Iran Olympic Team, routed Antalyaspor football club 5-0 in a friendly game staged in Antalya on Wednesday.
The Iranians started the match with vim and vigor, and asserted their dominance from the onset, making it difficult for the Turkish outfit to maneuver.
It was in the 25th minute that Arsalan Motahari took up a marvelous opportunity and put the ball at the back of Antalyaspor’s net to open up the scoring for the visitors.
Motahari doubled Iran’s lead six minutes later, and scored his third goal of the fixture in the 35th minute.
Iranian soccer players did not produce any other goal scoring opportunities in the remaining minutes of the first half, and went into the breather with a three-goal lead.
After the break, Iranians did not relinquish superiority and sustained momentum, and Mehrdad Mohammadi was on the target in the 72nd minute and made it four for the Islamic Republic. A goal by Reza Aliyari in the 76th minute took the score to 5-0.
The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, which will be the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, is scheduled to be held in Qatar between January 12 and 30. A total of 16 teams will play in the tournament.
The sporting event was renamed from the “AFC U-22 Championship” to the “AFC U-23 Championship.”
On October 14, the national Iranian under-23 football team was awarded the 2015 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship in Qatar following a thrilling victory over Syria.
The match staged at the Lekhwiya SC Stadium in Doha, Qatar, was a lukewarm encounter for the first half as both teams struggled to create scoring chances.
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 to their 1-0 lead despite some fightback 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 national Syrian under-23 football team conceded a 2-0 defeat at last.
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