Iran
booked their place in the Round of 16 of the U-17 finals in UAE after a
1-0 win over Austria in Al Ain saw them finish second in Group E. Their
opponents in the first knockout round will be none other than Nigeria,
who return to their home-base in the desert after topping their section.
Austria and Canada are both eliminated after the night’s results, while
Argentina win Group E and move on the next stage.
Playing in their first game at a new
venue, Iran and Austria did not look uncomfortable at all in the early
minutes from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium. After 16 minutes, an
Austrian corner-kick was headed powerfully by David Domej from six yards
out. The effort went just over the bar and the no-nonsense captain just
turned around and ran back to his defensive post.
There was a free-kick in the 27th
minute, but Ali Hazimi’s effort could only fly up and over the bar. It
was a hint of things to come, however, as the Iranians took the lead in
the 36th minute. Yousef Seyyedi looked like he had nowhere to go, with
his back to the goal and swarmed by defenders, but his quick turn left
Dominik Baumgartner for dead. He slipped past two more Austrians before
toe-poking home from close range.
In the end, the 1-0 result was enough to
see Iran through behind Argentina in Group E, while Canada and Austria
board the early flights for home from UAE 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment