Mashad: Iran scored either side of half-time to defeat Kuwait 2-0 in Tuesday’s top-of-the-table clash and take their place at the AFC U-19 Championship as Group E winners, with the Gulf side finishing second in the standings above Jordan, who ended their qualifying campaign in third following a 3-0 defeat of Nepal in the earlier game.
Imperious Iran had stormed into pole position ahead of the final round of matches having defeated Nepal (10-0) and Jordan (3-0), while Kuwait had kept themselves in contention for a guaranteed place in next year’s finals in Bahrain by going into the decisive fixture with four points from a possible six following a defeat of Jordan (2-1) and a surprise 1-1 draw with the Nepalese.
Kuwait looked to have kept Iran at bay in the first half until skipper Reza Chaab put the home side 1-0 up four minutes into stoppage-time with his fifth of the qualifiers before a 62nd minute Omid Noor-Afkan effort sealed Iran’s place at the AFC U-19 Championship with a perfect record after a campaign that saw them score 15 times and concede none over their three matches at the Samen Al Aemeh Stadium.
Iran will join the nine other group winners and five best second-placed teams (which will be confirmed in due course) at the AFC U-19 Championship, with hosts Bahrain receiving automatic entry to next year’s 16-team tournament.