Irans U-17, U19 and U-21 football teams

[donsaeid]

تيم نوجوانان ايران با يك گل يمن را شكست داد

تيم فوتبال نوجوانان ايران موفق شد با نتيجه يك بر صفر تيم نوجوانان يمن را در چارچوب مرحله مقدماتي مسابقات قهرماني آسيا شكست دهد.

تيم نوجوانان ايران با مربيگري محمد احمدزاده موفق شد در اولين مسابقه قهرماني نوجوانان آسيا تيم يمن را شكست دهد.
علي محمدي، مهاجم تيم ايران در دقيقه 30 نيمه اول توانست دروازه حريف را باز كرده و پيروزي با ارزشي را به ارمغان بياورد.
تيم نوجوانان يمن از دقيقه 37 به دليل اخراج العاقل تا پايان مسابقه 10 نفره بازي كرد و در نيمه دوم، بازي برابري را مقابل سفيدپوشان ارائه كرد.
تيم ايران در مسابقات قهرماني نوجوانان آسيا با تيم هاي عراق، تاجيكستان و يمن همگروه است و در دومين ديدار روز سه شنبه با تيم نوجوانان تاجيكستان ديدار خواهد كرد.

[donsaeid]

SINGAPORE: 10-man Yemen were left rueing a last-minute miss after going down to Iran 1-0 while debutants Tajikistan battled to a 1-0 win over Iraq in the opening Group B encounters of the AFC U-17 Championship here at the Bishan Stadium on Sunday.

Iran, coached by Mohamed Ahmedzade, were unconvincing against the Yemenis in the first game, missing a host of chances, even as the Tajiks, unknown entity as far as this tournament is concerned, played an enterprising brand of football for a well-deserved last-gasp win.

Jaleledin Alimohamed scored the only goal of the match for Iran on 25 minutes while super-sub Abdukayum Karabaev was Tajikistan’s hero with his last-minute strike after a superb, solo run.

Yemen, who were runners-up to Korea Republic in 2002, made the first meaningful move of the game against Iran with Ali Ameri crossing from the right on 14 minutes after hoodwinking his marker but the floater went abegging.

The Iranian response was quick and came within three minutes through hard-working skipper Hadi Azizi who went close from distance, before setting up Jalaledin Alimohamed for the only goal of the match.

After seeing Alimohamed cruising unmolested on the right flank, Azizi showed his vision and skills by sending in a pin-point cross to the striker who was left with an easy tap-in on 25 minutes.

Yemen were soon down to 10 men in the 38th minute after Basem Al Aqel entered the referee’s book for hacking down Alimohamed, who had managed to penetrate into the area, and after this it was an uphill task for the West Asians.

Upon resumption, Yemen predictably concentrated on not conceding more goals while Iran, who were runners-up to Oman in 2000, were clearly bent on making their numerical superiority count.

Hamid Reza Aliasgari almost made it 2-0 for the Iranians when he shot straight at the Yemeni goalkeeper after a solo effort a minute into the restart and, the very next minute, Azizi rattled the bar from distance.

The Yemenis had a goal disallowed in the 57th minute by the referee.

Yemen’s best chance came – and was spurned – in the 89th minute when, with the Iranian backline at sixes and sevens, Faisal Balbahaith’s cross from the right was inexplicably fired wide by Abdullah Omar with the gaping goal at his mercy.

Iranian coach Ahmadzade was not pleased with the narrow win. “I am not satisfied. We had more than seven chances but score just one goal,” said Ahmadzade.

“We have a problem in scoring easy goals. When Yemen had their defender sent off they did not pull their strikers back. So we couldn’t find more space in midfield.”

Ahmadzade took a deep breath when asked about the easy chance Yemen missed in the dying moments of the game. “It was absolutely dangerous but the match is finished now. We are winners. Let’s think about the next game against Uzbekistan.”

“Iran were better than us technically and even physically. That is why my players lost the ball in one-on-ones,” said Yemen coach Abdullah Foudail.

“I think the decision to send off our player was not fair and we also had a goal turned down. I hope we will not repeat our mistakes against Iraq.”

In the second game, substitute Abdukayum Karabaev was the toast of Tajikistan as his injury time strike proved to be the difference against Iraq.

Both sides showed good skills but lacked the cutting edge upfront. The major talking point of the match came in the 25th minute when Tajikistan goalkeeper Eradzh Radzhabov came out of his penalty box and handled the ball. Referee Kim Dong Jin blew the whistle but only showed him a yellow card.

With each passing minute, both sides began to adopt a more cautious approach. It needed a moment of genius to spark life into the contest and it came very, very late. Just as the fourth official indicated three added minutes, Karabaev began his solo run on the left. Iraq’s efforts to stop him went in vain as the substitute coolly slotted the ball into the net.

Tajikistan coach Pulod Qodirov could hardly contain his emotions saying, “In spite of the humid conditions here, my players showed good teamwork and followed the instructions very well. All my players played their hearts out and gave their very best. We played for a win and I am happy we achieved such a positive result.”

The Iraqis collapsed to their feet at the final whistle after losing in the most heartbreaking fashion.

Tajikistan play Iran next on 5 September with Iraq versus Yemen being the other clash.

[donsaeid]

احمدزاده: سه امتياز را تقديم تاجيكستان كرديم


سرمربي تيم فوتبال نوجوانان ايران گفت: تاجيكستان آمده بود تا حداقل امتياز را بگيرد؛ اما سه امتياز را به آنها تقديم كرديم.


محمد احمدزاده روز چهارشنبه درباره بازي تيم نوجوانان مقابل تاجيكستان افزود: متاسفانه موقعيت هاي زيادي را خراب كرديم. تاجيكها حتي به اميد مساوي هم به زمين نيامده بودند؛ اما در فوتبال يك نظريه ثابت شده كه اگر گل نزني، گل مي خوري. بايد تمام اميدمان به بازيهاي فردا باشد. نتيجه بازي با عراق مي تواند صعود ما را هموار كند.
وي اضافه كرد: خود بازيكنان هم به شانس مسلمي كه براي صعود از دست دادند، پي بردهاند و همه ما منتظر فردا هستيم تا اين نتيجه را جبران كنيم.
احمدزاده كه قبل از اين بازي اميدوار بود كار تيم به اما و اگر كشيده نشود، گفت: دوست نداشتيم كار صعودمان به اينجا كشيده شود و انصافا بچهها تمام تلاش خود را كردند. ما همه راههاي منطقي كه ميبايست جلوي تيم دفاعي تاجيكستان به كار ميبرديم را در زمين پياده كرديم. تيمهاي ايراني كم بيش ميآيد تا آخرين لحظه تلاش كنند؛ اما بازيكنان ايران مقابل تاجيكستان تا لحظات آخر نااميد نشدند؛ اما شانس با ما يار نبود.
سرمربي تيم نوجوانان به نبود يك تمام كننده در خط حمله اشاره كرد و افزود: متاسفانه در زدن ضربات آخر به مشكل برخورديم؛ در حاليكه در بازي هاي تداركاتي با نتايج پرگل ميدان را ترك ميكرديم. در دو بازي اصلي در به ثمر رساندن گل موفق عمل نكرديم و اين برخلاف تمريناتي بود كه انجام داده بوديم. اميدوارم در بازي با عراق اين مشكل برطرف شود. البته به بازيكن خاصي ايراد نميگيرم چون همه تلاش خود را كردند.
اين مربي معتقد است صعود تيم در دستان خود بازيكنان است. وي در اين باره گفت: فردا اگر بخواهيم مي توانيم تكليف خودمان را روشن كنيم. به بچهها گفتم كاري به نتيجه بازي تاجيكستان و يمن نداشته باشند. تاجيكستان اگر بخواهد فوتبال معمولياش را مقابل يمن انجام دهد، شايد نبازد؛ اما مطمئنا نميتواند حريف را ببرد چون تاجيكها كاملا دفاعي بازي ميكنند. در هر صورت كاري به اين بازي ندارم و بايد خودمان تكليف را روشن كنيم.
احمدزاده در مورد انتقاداتي كه به او وارد شده، گفت: وقتي اين مسئوليت را قبول كردم، همه مشكلات آن را هم پذيرفتم. هنوز چيزي تمام نشده است. اگر منتقدان كمي صبر كنند، بد نيست.
تيم ايران فردا ساعت 20 به وقت محلي مقابل عراق به ميدان ميرود.

[donsaeid]

SINGAPORE: Debutants Tajikistan continued their impressive run in the AFC U-17 Championship and booked their spot in the quarterfinals after stunning former runners-up Iran 2-1 even as Yemen and Iraq did their chances of advancing to the knockout stage from Group B no good after a 1-1 draw at the Bishan Stadium here on Tuesday.

The win, Tajikistan’s second after their opening 1-0 late victory against Iraq, sees the Central Asians firmly atop the group with six points while Iran are on three points and now in a difficult position ahead of their final group game against archrivals Iraq on September 7.

Davrondzhon Tukhtasunov was Tajikistan’s hero with a double in the 13th and 23rd minutes while Iran managed to claw one back 15 minutes from time through substitute striker Mehdi Daghagheleh within a minute of his entering the pitch.

Iran hit the post early on through Ehsan Hajisafi and Hadi Azizi but it was Pulod Qodirov’s team which took the lead against the run of play and subsequently established its control over the match.

Tukhtasunov’s first goal was a simple, clean header while his second could be attributed to the wrong positions in which several Iranian defenders had been marshalled by Iranian goalkeeper Davoud Noushi, allowing the Tajik striker to slot the ball home easily off a cross from the right.

The Iranians tried to recoup in the second period from this opening salvo but had to settle for pot-shots from distance after being shut out by the Tajik backline and midfielders though goalkeeper Eradzh Radzhabov had his gloves stung a few times.

Iran coach Mohamed Ahmadzade then carried out a couple of substitutions by sending in attacking midfielder Shahryar Shirvand and strikers Karim Ansarifard and Daghaghele, the latter of whom scored with a first-time shot.

In the first match, Iraq surged into the lead on 22 minutes through midfielder Emar Mohamed but failed to add to this and were forced to share the honours after Muaad Al Ameri headed in the equaliser nine minutes from time in stunning fashion.

The Iraqis, in an aggressive start to the game, should have taken the lead after just two minutes after striker Kaies Ali found himself in an inviting one-on-one situation with baffled Yemeni goalkeeper Ali Al Ansi but could manage only a feeble shot straight to the custodian.

Khadoom Bander’s charges piled on the pressure and this paid dividends in the 21st minute when Emar Mohamed cut across the top of the box to unleash a shot on the move which saw the ball grazing an outstretched Al Ansi’s fingers before bulging the net.

The lead was almost doubled two minutes later when the unstoppable Kaies hit the post with a long distance effort.

It looked liked Iraq were on course for making up for their opening 1-0 reverse to Tajikistan when the Yemenis rallied late into the game, just like the Tajiks, with Al Amer’s header ripping into the post past despairing goalkeeper Zohair Ajeel.

Iraqi coach Bandar was disappointed with the result and blamed his defenders. “Our defenders lost their concentration in the second half and were not able to defend their position. They quit their position to join the strikers but couldn’t come back to fill the free space.?

“Yemen were excellent in the dying minutes and they were physically superior to us.?

[donsaeid]

سايت كنفدراسيون فوتبال آسيا : تاجيكستان شگفتيساز شد

تهران - سايت كنفدراسيون فوتبال آسيا روز چهارشنبه نوشت تيم تاجيكستان با شكست دادن ايران در روز دوم رقابتهاي فوتبال قهرماني زير ۱۷سال آسيا شگفتي ديگري آفريد و به دور دوم صعود كرد .

اين در حالي بود كه عراق با تساوي مقابل يمن امتياز حساسي را از دست داد تا دو تيم چشم به روز پاياني داشته باشند.

ايران در حالي بازي را آغاز كرد كه كاملا تهاجمي بود و در دقايق ابتدايي دو بار به تير دروازه حريف كوبيد اما بر خلاف جريان بازي اين تاجيكستان بود كه با ضربه سر "داورونجون تاختاسونوف"در دقيقه ۱۳به برتري رسيد.

اين بازيكن در دقيقه ۲۳و در حالي كه دروازهبان ايران در چيدن مدافعانش اشتباه كرده بود توپي را كه از جناح راست سانتر شد در تير اول با يك برش مناسب وارد دروازه ايران كرد تا احمدزاده و شاگردانش را در شوك عميقي فرو برد.

حملات ايران در نيمه دوم شدت بيشتري گرفت اما دفاع مستحكم تاجيكستان فقط يكبار به مهدي دغاغله اجازه داد كه تور دروازه را بلرزاند.

احمدزاده كه بعد از بازي كاملا عصبي و نگران به نظر ميرسيد گفت: " شانس هاي زيادي داشتيم اما گل نزديم. اين قانون فوتبال است گل نزني گل مي خوري. بارها و بارها موقعيت گل را از دست داديم.

حالا بچهها بايد مقابل عراق جبران كنند. ميتوانستيم در آن بازي تفريح كنيم اما امروز باختيم و بايد هزينهاش را بدهيم. تاجيكستان هم مثل بازي قبل بازي كرد. دفاع بسته و ضد حمله .

به هر حال كار ما تمام نشده . از فردا دوباره شروع ميكنيم".

پولاد كوديروف هم كه از نتيجه بدست آمده و صعود تيمش خوشحال بود گفت: " از بازي بازيكنانم خوشحالم. خيلي خوب بودند. چه در دفاع چه در حمله. بله ايران حمله كرد ما گل زديم. قرارمان اين بود كه دفاع كنيم و با ضد حمله گل بزنيم. بين دو نيمه هم به بازيكنانم گفتم كه نترسند و با لذت بازي كنند."
در بازي ديگر اين گروه عراق در دقيقه ۲۲با ضربه محكم عمار محمد به گل رسيد كه توپش از بالاي دست دروازهبان جلو آمده يمن وارد دروازه شد.

يمن براي جبران گل تا دقيقه ۸۱در تلاش بود تا بالاخره با ضربه موآد العامري به گل مساوي رسيد.

بعد از اين هر دو طرف به آب و آتش زدند اما بازيكنان خسته جز حملات بي برگشت كار ديگري نميتوانستند بكنند.

كاظم بندر مربي نوجوانان عراق كه به شدت افسرده به نظر ميرسيد گفت: " در نيمه دوم مدافعان ما تمركزشان را از دست دادند و وظايف شان را رها كردند . يمن تيم خوبي بود آنها از نظر قدرت بدني هم بهتر از ما بودند." در اين چارچوب سنگاپور ميزبان رقابتها با توقف ۱بر ۱نوجوانان ژاپن مانع صعود اين تيم به مرحله يك هشتم نهايي شد تا ژاپنيها به بازي روز سوم گروه اميدوار باشند.

كره جنوبي هم با پيروزي ۲بر صفر مقابل نپال اولين تيمي شد كه به مرحله يك هشتم گام گذاشت.

[donsaeid]

تيم ايران مغلوب تاجيكستان شد

تهران - تيم فوتبال نوجوانان ايران در دومين ديدار خود در چارچوب رقابتهاي قهرماني آسيا در سنگاپور، روز سهشنبه برابر تيم نوجوانان تاجيكستان با نتيجه دو بر يك مغلوب شد.

در اين ديدار كه در ورزشگاه "بيشان" سنگاپور برگزار شد، "تاكانوف" در دقيقه ۱۵و رضا اصفهاني (مدافع تيم كشورمان) در دقيقه ۲۰براي تاجيكستان گلزني كردند و تك گل ايران را "مهدي دغاقله" در دقيقه ۷۵بازي به ثمر رساند.

تيم ايران در نخستين ديدار خود در اين رقابتها تيم نوجوانان يمن را با يك گل شكست داده بود و سومين ديدار خود را روز ۱۶شهريور ماه با تيم عراق برگزار خواهد كرد.

مسابقات فوتبال قهرماني آسيا و انتخابي جامجهاني از ۱۲تا ۲۶شهريور ماه سال جاري در كشور سنگاپور در حال پيگيري است.

گروهبندي اين مسابقات به شرح زير است :
گروه يك: كرهجنوبي، ژاپن، نپال و سنگاپور
گروه دو: ايران، عراق، تاجيكستان و يمن
گروه سه: كره شمالي، لائوس،ميانمار و عربستان سعودي
گروه چهار: چين ، بنگلادش، ويتنام و سوريه

[Sepideh_UK]

Nice.
Thanx Saeid.

[donsaeid]

kojash nice

bakhtan ke be ki onam Tajikestan... ma tajikestano 10-12 ta mizadim behesh.

[Dariush]

we still qulified for the next round, right?

[Sepideh_UK]

I suppose!!

[donsaeid]

Iran through after goalless draw as Tajikistan beat Yemen

SINGAPORE: Thanks to some heroic goalkeeping by Davoud Noushi Sofiani, former runners-up Iran shared the spoils with neighbours Iraq after a 0-0 draw and secured their passage to the quarterfinals of the AFC U-17 Championship here at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday.

Iraq lost to Iran 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2004 edition in Japan and although they didn’t lose this time, the result was just not good enough for them to emulate their feat two years ago.

With debutants Tajikistan maintaining their perfect record by beating Yemen 4-3 in their last game in Group B, Iran booked their spot in the knockout stage against Group A toppers Japan, without either winning or scoring in the decider.

The Iranians impressively reached the semifinals of the last edition in Japan before bowing out to China 3-0. They missed the 2002 edition through suspension after five players were found to be over-aged when they finished runners-up to Oman in the Vietnam edition in 2000.

The Central Asians emerged as the top team in the group with nine points for a quarterfinal berth against Group A runners-up Korea Republic, while Iran finished second with four points. Iraq finished with two points and Yemen had to be content with the wooden spoon, with just one point earned.

The Iraqis, whose best finish in this competition is a semifinal finish in 1988, did most of the running in the first half and should have taken the lead in the 39th minute. Iraq captain Ammar Jabbair was bought down by Iran goalkeeper Davoud Noushi Sofiani inside the box, and match referee Yuichi Nishimura from Japan, without hesitation, pointed to the spot after dishing out a yellow card to Sofiani.

Much to the relief of Iran coach Mohammad Ahmad Zadeh, Sofiani turned hero from villain, by superbly saved the penalty taken by Samir Khalaf.

In first half stoppage time, it was Sofiani who again emerged as Iran’s saviour with a daring save on Jabbair at the near post. Sofiani was again Jabbair’s nemesis in the 33rd minute, when he acrobatically tipped out a 24 yard free kick from the latter.

Iran’s only real chance came in the 17th minute but Bakhtiar Rahmani shot wide from 20 yards out.

Two minutes after the interval, Jalalaldin Alimohammadi spurned a good goal scoring chance created by Hamidreza Ali Asgari Dehaghi after ballooning the ball high.

The rest of the half was a dull affair with both teams attacking relentlessly out of desperation with no goal to show. But at the end of the day, it was a point that mattered the most for the Iranians, who punched their ticket to the last eight in drab style.

Iran coach Mohammad Ahmadzadeh heaved a sigh of relief after the goalless draw and subsequent qualification for the quarterfinals. “Iraq gave us a scare and they played a very good match. But we managed to hang on and reached the objective of making the last eight. To emerge as champions in this competition, we have to play every opponent, no matter it is Korea Republic, Japan or Saudi Arabia, we will be ready for Japan in the quarterfinals.”

Iraqi coach Kadhum Bander warned they would be back in force in two years’ time. “To say goodbye to this tournament is sad, but it is not the end of the world. Life goes on. We will bounce back in two years’ time.”

“The missed penalty was the turning point of the match, but I am satisfied with the team’s overall performance in the whole tournament and we can hold our heads high.”

The other group match saw Tajikistan fight back and overturn a two-goal deficit against their Yemeni rivals.

Already assured of their spot in the last eight, the Central Asians were guilty of complacency which allowed Muaadh Al Ameri to open the proceedings in favour of Yemen in the 41st minute while Abdullah Omar added to it in first half injury time.

The stung Tajiks hit back in force through striker Farkhod Tokhirov six minutes into the restart and matters were level when Farkhod Vasiev found the net 16 minutes later.

Davrondzhon Tukhtasanov, whose brace against Iran in the previous game helped the Tajiks storm into the last eight, was against in devastating form and powered his team into the lead in the 55th minute.

The same player grabbed his double nine minutes from time for a memorable comeback win for the Central Asians, who are playing in this tournament for the first time, though Al Ameri managed to pull another goal back for Yemen in stoppage time but that was all the 2002 runners-up could manage.

[donsaeid]

next match

11/9 17:00 (singapore time)

IRAN - Japan

Quarter Finals

[Rasputin]

تيم ملي فوتبال نوجوانان ايران با شكست در ضربات پنالتي از دور مسابقات قهرماني آسيا كه حكم انتخابي جام جهاني را دارد كنار رفت.

به گزارش خبرگزاري دانشجويان ايران (ايسنا)، در اين ديدار كه ظهر امروز در ورزشگاه جلان بيسار سنگاپور برگزار شد مليپوشان نوجوان ايران پس از آن كه در مجموع صد و بيست دقيقه تلاش نتوانستند حريف ژاپني خود را از پيش رو بردارند با نتيجهي 9 بر 8 در ضربات پنالتي از حريف خود شكست خورده و حذف شدهي اين رقابتها در مرحلهي يك چهارم نهايي لقب گرفتند.

تيم ملي ژاپن در دقيقهي پانزدهم توسط «يوچيرو كاكيتاني» به گل نخست دست يافت و نيمهي نخست اين بازي با نتيجهي يك بر صفر به پايان رسيد. در نيمهي دوم مليپوشان ايران نمايش بهتري را ارايه كردند و تيم ملي موفق شد با گل زيباي جلال علي محمدي در دقيقهي هشتاد و پنج مزد تلاش خود را گرفته و نتيجه را به تساوي بكشاند.

در دو نيمه وقتهاي اضافي تلاش بازيكنان دو تيم نتيجهاي در بر نداشت و تنها حميد اصفهاني در دقيقهي صد و ده از بازي اخراج شد تا تيم ملي بازي را با ده نفر ادامه دهد.

پس از آن اين ضربات پنالتي بود كه چهرهي تيم صعود كننده به نيمه نهايي را مشخص ميكرد.

در ضربات پنالتي درخشش نوشي صوفياني، دروازهبان تيم ايران و دروازهبان تيم ژاپن سبب شد كه دوازده ضربهي پنالتي به سوي دروازهي دو تيم نواخته شود و دروازهبانان هر دو تيم موفق شدند سه ضربهي پنالتي را مهار كنند.

ضربهي آخر ژاپنيها توسط كاپيتان اين تيم به گل تبديل شد اما، ضربهي احسان حاجي صفي كه پنالتي نخست خود را به گل تبديل كرده بود به تير افقي دروازهي ژاپن برخورد كرد تا تيم ايران به رغم شايستگي از گردونهي رقابتهاي قهرماني آسيا كنار رود.

[donsaeid]

SINGAPORE: Japan edged Iran 9-8 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to qualify for semifinals of the AFC U-17 Championship here at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Monday.

The win on penalties, coming after 120 minutes of football produced a 1-1 draw, also booked Japan’s spot in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic next year.

Japan goalkeeper Ryotaro Hironaga, who plays for FC Tokyo, was the hero for Japan after saving Ehsan Hajysafi’s final spot kick of the night.

The teams battled out a one-goal deadlock in regulation time and there was no end to the stalemate even after extra-time, forcing the tiebreaker from the spot in which Hironaga showed why he is one of the best in the business with his intuitive shot-stopping skills which reserved Japan’s place in the last four against Syria, who defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 at the Bishan Stadium.

Japan opened the scoring early in the first half with a goal from Yoichiro Kakitani. Iran leveled the score eight minutes before time through Jalaladin Almohammadi. For the record, the two teams met at the Tehran Invitational in May last year, with Iran winning 4-3 and it was Japan who gained sweet revenge this time.

The opening minutes were all but exciting with Japan dominating strongly. Both teams were error prone and there were wasteful passes all over the pitch. With the battle concentrated in midfield, there were not many real chances created by both sides.

Japan drew first blood in the 14th minute with a flash of brilliance from their influential playmaker Yoichiro Kakitani.

Receiving a long pass from the defence, the Cerezo Osaka youngster accelerated his run with perfection and ran for 40 yards beating the entire Iranian backline, before finishing past the on-rushing goalkeeper Davoud Noushi Sofiani.

Iran were made to wait till the 21st minute for their first shot on goal but Hamidreza Ali Asgari Dehaghi’s lob went well wide.

Hiroshi Jofuku’s lads muffed up two golden chances to improve the scoreline when, in the 39th minute, Sofiani came off his line to pouch a long cross by Japan but fumbled, but before Kakitani could steal in, the Iranian custodian pounced on the ball, and two minutes before half time, Jin Hanato had a near post shot off a corner, blocked on the goal line by the alert Abolhassan Jafari.

Japan continued their domination in the second half but the Iranians slowly picked up the tempo with inspirational captain Hadi Azizi Kalehsar and his midfield partner Dehaghi started to stamp their authority.

Japan suffered a scare in the 47th minute when Bakhtiar Rahmani burst through the Japanese defence but with the goal mouth at his mercy, he contrived to shoot into the stands.

Japan continues to create- and waste chances - with Kakitani and Shohei Otsuka being the main culprits.

With 20 minutes to go, Jofuku opted for a conservative policy by substituting Otsuka with midfielder Hiroto Tanaka, and pushed Kakitani up-front alone. Another first choice striker Hanato, was replaced by Manabu Saito earlier at half time.

Jofuku’s tactic backfired spectacularly with the desperate Iranians equalising eight minutes before the end to force the game into extra-time after the Japanese defence failed to clear a flowing attack on the wing and Almohammadi blasted the ball into the net to level the score.

Captain Kota Mizunuma wasted a golden opportunity to put Japan, who were now without a recognized striker, back in the driving seat in the 105th minute by shoot inches wide after being put through by Naoki Yamada.

Iran played with 10 men from the 112th minute onwards with defender Reza Rishi Esfahani getting his marching orders from UAE referee Mohamed Fareed Ali Al Marzouqi for his second yellow card of the match.

The scoreline remained unchanged after 120 minutes of play and both sets of players were only to glad to settle it out from the spot where Japan proved to be the superior team.

Japan coach Hiroshi Jofuku was a relieved man after the match. “The penalty shootout is a lottery, and I am happy to take the team through and qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007.”

Jofuku explained that it was his desire to shut out Iranian midfielder Hamidreza Ali Asghari Dehagi which prompted his decision to substitute Otsuka. ““I changed the team formation and tactics in the second half to contain the threat of Iran no.10 (Dehaghi), who was influential. I needed to tighten up the team defence in order to nip Iranian attacks in the bud.”

“I was definitely not going for negative tactics as I am not a defensive minded person.”

[donsaeid]

SINGAPORE: Striker Mohamed Jaafar grabbed a brace as Syria shocked pre-tournament favourites Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the AFC U-17 Championship here at the Bishan Stadium on Monday.


Jaafar fired Syria into the lead on nine minutes in the battle of West Asian teams before Fahd Al Dossari equalised in the 46th minute. Jaafar netted the winner in the 74th minute to book Syria’s place in the semifinals where they play Japan.


The win also punched Syria’s ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the Korea Republic next year as one of the four semifinalists and helped make amends for their quarterfinal defeat to Yemen in 2002.


The Syrians, coached by Mohamed Al Jomaa, started strongly and dominated the game early on. This resulted in an early goal when key player Ziad Ajouz crossed into the box and an unmarked Jaafar was left with the simplest of tap-ins.


Saudi Arabia, who won the title in 1985 and 1988, tried to claw back into the game but Syria shut them out with quite a bit of meaningful running and stubborn defence. The Saudis were also guilty of giving the ball away under pressure.


Playmaker Mohamed Midou gave the Saudis a hard time with his zig-zag running and accurate passes. His pin-point long balls were enough to send the Saudi backline, which was hardly efficient today, scrambling.


Saudi coach Jean-Marie Conz substituted defender Abdullah Majrashi with striker Mohammed Hazazi upon resumption and this paid dividends almost immediately as a Fahd Al Dossari found the net to complete a move initiated by Hazazi.


The equalising goal, and the manner in which it was scored, should have spurred the Saudis but it was the Syrians who upped the ante with a series of raids in search of the winner.


A break in the 73rd minute had Adnan Yousef centering the ball from a free kick and it was Jaafar who outjumped the defence to connect powerfully past a diving Saudi goalkeeper Naif Al Anazi.


The Saudis did step up the momentum in the dying minutes but any hopes of a fightback were snuffed out after midfielder Raqi Fatallah was shown the red card.


Syria coach Al Jomaa was beside himself with delight. “We played three tough matches in the group stage while Saudi had played only two. This made us better equipped for our rivals,” said Al Jomaa.


“We were tired but performed well. I told the team not to hurry and concentrate. In the dressing room I told them we needed to preserve our strength till the last minute.”


After scoring the second goal we were in a strong position but it was a bit difficult in the end as Saudi became really aggressive.”


Saudi coach Conz was in a state of shock. “We started terribly. I couldn’t understand what the reason was. We could equalize and get better but we lost everything on one mistake when our defender fouled and gave them a free kick from the right side.


“I think my players were nervous because this match was also the bridge to the FIFA world meet. In the first half we were not in the game and after Syria’s second goal the morale of my players plummeted. I warned them about the Syrian counter attack but it didn’t work.”