The United Arab Emirates (UAE), led by Bento, lost 1-2 to Iran in the third Group C match of the 2023 Asian Cup Qatar Asian Cup held at Alaiyan Education City Stadium in Qatar at midnight on the 24th (Korea time).
As a result, the UAE ranked second in the group with four points (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss, 5 points and 4 points), advancing to the round of 16. Palestine also has four points with one win, one draw, and one loss, but it lost five points and five points to stay in the third place. Nevertheless, it beat China, which ranked third in Group A, and Syria, which ranked third in Group B, to confirm its advance to the round of 16 as the wild card for the group's third place. Iran advanced to the round of 16 by ranking first in the group, while winning all three of its matches.
For UAE, Yahya al-Gasani's goal in extra time in the second half led the team to second place. In many ways, it was similar to the third group match between Korea and Portugal at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. South Korea, led by Bento at the time, reached the round of 16 dramatically with Hwang Hee-chan's come-from-behind goal in the second half.
Bento kept his second place by scoring a dramatic goal on the day as well. The stage was the same as Education City Stadium. In addition, Bento was not able to sit on the bench because he was sent off in the previous game. Just like a year ago, head coach Sergio Costa led the game instead.
The UAE started with a 5-4-1 formation. Yahya Algasani, Ali Saleh - Abdallah Ramadan - Majid Rashid - Tanun Al Javi, Harib Abdallah Suhail - Naser Bader - Khalid Hashemi - Khalid Ibrahim - Zayed Sultan and Khalid Aisa started.
The UAE focused on its defense against Iran. During his time as a Korean national team coach, Bento produced results by stubbornly emphasizing initiative and active soccer, but he came out with five back on the day. It seemed that he made the decision because center back Khalifa Al-Hammadi could not play due to disciplinary action against him and could secure the second place in the group even if the team ties with him.
Iran fought back with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Sardar Azmoun, Medhi Gayedi - Mehdi Taremi - Ali Golizadeh, Saman Godos - Saaid ejatolahi, Essan Hajisafi - Shoja Khalilzadeh - Hossein Kanani - Saadeg Moharami and Alireza Beiranband made the starting list.
Iran pushed ahead with the attack from the beginning. Iran also actively participated in the attack, shaking the UAE's defense. The UAE sought a counterattack by focusing on stopping Iran.
Iran's attack became more and more fierce. In the 18th minute of the first half, Azmoun turned his head around a corner kick from the left, but it went out of the net. In the 24th minute of the first half, Taremi penetrated to the left of the box and connected the ball to the other side, but the defense hurriedly cleared it.
Iran was responsible for the opening goal. At the 26th minute of the first half, Azmoun scored an exquisite one-touch pass to break down the UAE's defense line. After receiving the ball, Taremi calmly penetrated the goalie and shook the net with her right foot shot.
Iran shook the net again. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Hajisafi made a sharp cross from the left, and Golizadeh finished it with an accurate diving header. However, the reading with semi-automatic offside reading technology (SAOT) determined that offside was indeed declared by a narrow margin.
UAE rarely had a chance to shoot. Passes were inaccurate and often cut off even in counterattacks. Injuries were bad for Iran. Moharami collapsed and was carted off in the 44th minute of the first half, eventually being replaced by Ramin Rezaian.
The UAE missed a golden opportunity to tie the match 17 minutes into the second half. Al Gasani was kicked and fell by his opponent's defense in the box, and a penalty was declared after VAR. However, Al Gasani's shot as a kicker was completely read by the goalkeeper and blocked.
After overcoming the crisis, Iran immediately ran away. In the 20th minute of the second half, Ibrahim made a fatal pass mistake in the defense. Azmoun, who cut it off, gave the ball to the left, and Taremi scored multiple goals with a sharp shot.
Iran almost scored one more goal. At the 22nd minute of the second half, Azmoun exited into the back space and shot a powerful left foot to penetrate the near goal. However, the assistant referee was holding an offside flag.
Iran lost its third goal. In the 36th minute of the second half, Hajisafi's cross from the left hit the goalkeeper's hand and flowed backward. Alireza Jahanbakhsi's shot hit the crossbar, but Mohammad Mohebi finished it again. However, VAR results declared a foul in the previous scene.
The UAE, which needed to score, raised its line high. At the same time, the UAE ranked third in its group with a Palestinian lead over Hong Kong 3-0. Only when a goal is scored can it rise to the second place in the group.
Rather, Iran took the mood. Iran shot to its heart's content in the UAE's wide back space. In the 40th minute of the second half, Azmoun had a perfect opportunity, but his right-footed shot went off the post.