Zarqa: Iran kicked off their bid for a place in the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2025 with an impressive 7-1 win against Hong Kong, China in Group A of the Qualifiers on Monday.
DPR Korea secured their second win of the campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Syria to lead the group on six points.
Hong Kong, China 1-7 IR Iran
Iran, the 2018 champions, quickly got into their groove and went ahead in the second minute through Omid Garachchomaghloo before Erfan Khodadadian doubled their lead 14 minutes later.
Hong Kong, China fought to pull a goal back through Yiu Tsz Leong in the 23rd minute but were unable to stop Iliya Ahmadimanesh from restoring Iran’s two-goal lead nine minutes later.
The East Asian side battled admirably in the second half but Iran’s persistent attacks proved too hot to handle as Garachchomaghloo shined with goals in the 50th, 88th and second minute of added time while Khodadadian netted in the 84th minute to seal the emphatic win.
Iran’s U17 Head Coach Abbas Chamanian, a veteran in this age group, has built a formidable team. Players found their teammates quite impressively on the pitch. Apart from the seven goals, there were at least three balls that hit the post, some remarkable saves by Hong Kong Keeper, and many wasted opportunities for the young Iranians. The final score could have easily been in double figures.
It is noted that Hong Kong players were not an easy team to beat as they seemed to match Iranian players in many areas, The downfall was the poor defensive coverage and lack of coordination between the back four.
Scorers:
Omid Qara Chamaqal (2′ and 84′)
Erfan Khodadadian (16′, 50′, 88′ and 90+2′)
Ilia Ahmadi Manesh (32′)
LINEUP:
Madreza Bani Tamim;
Ali Destmrezeh (40′ Mohammad Amin Hosseini),
Amir Ali Ashouranjad (46′ Abolfazl Kazemi),
Morteza Ali Baldi (86′ Amir Hossein Shojaei),
Mohammad Amin Mehralian (46′ Ali Jalukhani),
Irfan Yusufzadeh,
Omid Qara Chomaghlo,
Ilia Ahmadi Manesh (62′ Amir Mohammad Bostani),
Mehrab Badleh,
Irfan Khodadadian.