FULL Highlights of the Asian Cup Qualifying Match between the national teams of Iran and Thailand in Azadi Stadium,Tehran. PFDC Match Report: Nekounam header eliminates Thailand PFDC – TEHRAN, Despite already being certain group winners ahead of the last Asian Cup qualifier, Iran, unlike the AFC in the FIFA World Cup qualification, respected the values of fair play and managed to defeat Thailand 1-0 thanks to a last-minute goal by Javad Nekounam. The guests needed a win to certainly qualify for the final tournament next January and at least a draw to keep their hopes alive, while Jordan and Singapore were hoping that Iran would take the game seriously. Afshin Ghotbi did so and fielded his strongest players, as usually relying on the 4-2-3-1 formation. Lone striker Masoud Shjoaei should be supported by the offensive trio Ali Karimi, Mehrzad Madanchi and Mohammad-Reza Khalatbari. Khosro Heydari and Ehsan Hajsafi, as offensive minded fullbacks, were supposed to assist the attack regulary as well. Iran dominant from the start The flexible offensive plan worked quite well and Iran very soon took full control over the proceedings and created a couple of opportunities thanks to much rotation upfront. Still most chances either came after setpieces or were efforts from outside the box, also due to Thailand defending very deeply, making it hard to create openings inside the penalty area. Especially returnee Ali Karimi appeared to be in good mood today and definitely inspired Iran’s …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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