Iran eliminates Japan in Asian Cup after Jahanbakhsh scores late penalty

Iran knocked out four-times champions Japan with a 2-1 victory in their Asian Cup quarterfinal clash after skipper Alireza Jahanbakhsh converted a penalty in stoppage time at Education City Stadium on Saturday.

Iran had not beaten Japan in 19 years while their victory also extended Amir Ghalenoei’s unbeaten streak to 16 matches since he took charge in March.

After a cagey start to a physical contest, Japan took the lead through Hidemasa Morita who made a run past four defenders before beating Alireza Beiranvand in goal to silence the Iran fans in the stadium.

But Iran equalized 10 minutes into the second half with a sublime passing move where Sardar Azmoun played the ball through to Mohammad Mohebi, who ran around his marker before slipping his shot past Suzuki into the bottom corner.

Japan had dominated possession in the first half but it was Iran who controlled proceedings after the equalizer as they initiated wave after wave of attacks and the pressure finally paid off in second-half added time.

Japan’s Ko Itakura made a mess of a clearance in the 94th minute and as he tried to recover, he tripped Hossein Kanani in the box and the referee immediately pointed to the spot, with Jahanbakhsh sending a missile into the top corner.

Iran will find out their semifinal opponents later on Saturday when defending champions Qatar take on Uzbekistan. Jordan plays South Korea in the other semifinal.