The Qatari national team defeated their Iranian counterpart 3-2 in a match held at Al Thumama Stadium today, Wednesday, in the semifinals of the Asian Cup. "Al Annabi" saw goals from Jassim Jaber, Akram Afif, and Almoez Ali in the 17th, 43rd, and 82nd minutes, while Iran's Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored in the 4th and 51st minutes, respectively. With this victory, the host nation Qatar qualified for the final of the Asian tournament for the second consecutive time, having won the title in 2019. Qatar will face Jordan in the championship match after the latter defeated South Korea 2-0.
**First Half**
The match began unexpectedly, with Iran scoring an early goal just three minutes in through Sardar Azmoun, who finished a corner kick taken from inside the box. Qatar soon sought to equalize and controlled midfield, launching several attacks that didn't seriously threaten the Iranian goal, except for a shot from Akram Afif that was saved by Iran's goalkeeper Alireza.
Under pressure from Qatar, Iran relied on counter-attacks that posed significant threats to the Qatari goal, nearly finding a second goal through Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun. Qatar ultimately leveled the match when defender Mohd Ali, after thwarting a dangerous opportunity, set Akram Afif up for a long ball. Afif laid it off for Jassim Jaber, who fired it into the net in the 18th minute. Both teams exchanged control afterward, but with little danger until Afif had a clear chance that struck the Iranian goalkeeper.
Qatar intensified its effort, as Ahmad Fathi intercepted the ball and passed it to Afif, who evaded defenders and scored with a powerful shot into the bottom left corner, marking Qatar's second goal.
**Second Half**
In the second half, Iran started strong and equalized in the 51st minute via a penalty taken by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, which went straight to the center of the net. Qatar quickly responded and wasted two consecutive chances before Iran attempted multiple attacks with little threat to Qatar.
As the game progressed, Iran appeared more dangerous and squandered multiple opportunities which could have shifted the momentum. In a turn of events, Akram Afif started a counter-attack from the right and after a deflected shot from the edge of the box, the ball reached Almoez Ali, who scored Qatar's third goal in the 81st minute.
Iran pressed hard for an equalizer but faced an unexpected setback with the red card shown to Shuja Khalilzadeh for a second booking. The final minutes were filled with intense action as both teams wasted clear goal-scoring opportunities before the referee blew the final whistle, concluding the thrilling encounter.
