Team Melli qualified for the AFC Asian Cup the  for a record 13th time when they defeated Lebanon 4-1 in Beirut.

In a match overshadowed by a terrorist attack earlier that day in south of Beirut near the Iranian Embassy , which prompted the authorities to ban the spectators from entering the stadium fearing more attacks.

Carlos Queiroz opted to start this match with a different line up, with Teymourian, Jabbari, Hajsafy and Montazzeri being rested. Alireza Jahanbakhash who scored Iran’s 3rd goal against Thailand, earned himself a starting role and looked quite lively on the right. The young player had a couple of good runs on the Lebanese defenders..

The first half ended 0-1 in the first half, Team Melli going ahead late in the half (minute 38) when central defender Amir Hossein Sadeghi towered over all the Lebanese defenders to head home from Masoud Shojaei’s corner.

In the second half, the floodgates opened early, when Ashkan Dejagah volleyed powerfully from a nice footwork on the right flank by Reza Ghoochannejad in minute 50.

4 minutes later , Masoud Shojaei was fouled by the Lebanese defender Ali Hammam in the penalty box.

The Chinese referee had no hesitation whistling for a penalty which Captain Nekounam scored  recording his 37th career goal for Team Melli.

The rout ended in the 63rd minute when the prolific Reza Ghoochannejad continued his amazing scoring record for Team Melli by scoring Iran’s 4th goal from an assist by Shojaei.

With the match in the bag, Queiroz made three substitution including bringing in Maziyar Zare to play as a central defender in place of Hosseini. Although Iran had more of the ball against a demoralized Lebanese team, there were many moments of slack passing by Iranian players and some complacency started developing.

However, it was poor coverage and the ease of dribbling past defenders that allowed Lebanon to score a consolation goal late in the match.

Lebanese winger Mohammed Haider went past 2 defenders with alarming ease before selling Beitashour short with a smart turn and shooting past Davari in an acute angle. The German-Iranian goalkeeper, starting his second game who had very little work to do during the whole match, failed to close and advance on the winger which enable him to slot the ball on the far corner.

Overall. it was a clinical performance by Team Melli , and except for the only goal scored conceded and some lazy and inaccurate passing , Team melli played one of it better games under Queiroz despite the concerns over security and the difficult circumstances off the field. Alireza Jahanbakhsh was quite promising with his runs on the flank. In his first start for the team , the ex Captain of Iran’s youth team , did not shy away from taking on defenders.

Iran, leading the table with 13 points after 5 matches, has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2013 , along with Kuwait which defeated Thailand 3-1 in a match player in Kuwait at the same time.