The Iranian soccer team, which is clinging to the second place in the group, and the Iraqi team are about to engage in a fierce battle for the last ticket to the Asian Cup. The fate of Iran's advancement hangs in the balance between the third and fourth place in the group. It is worth mentioning that the original battle for the fourth and fifth places no longer exists due to the unexpected withdrawal of the Lebanese team.
Iraq's tournament has come to an end with three points, three clean sheets and four goals in the group stage of the quarterfinals. In contrast, Iran's situation is more confusing. Hong Kong and Syria are fighting for the third and fourth places in the group, while Iran's advancement is still to be revealed. Although Iran's match is over, Syria's match is yet to be decided. If Syria manages to finish third, Iran will have to settle for three points, three clean sheets and two goals, while if Hong Kong takes third, Iran is expected to advance with three points, three clean sheets and eight goals.
Unsurprisingly, Hong Kong locked up third place in the group with a 2-1 win over Syria. This result makes the Iranian team and Iraqi team in the points and goal difference in the case of equality, by virtue of the number of goals scored advantage, successfully into the Asian Cup main round. Some netizens humorously joked that the Iranian team was "brought into" the Asian Cup by the Chinese team! Here, we also praise the excellent performance of the Iranian team, and hope that they continue to work hard to create another success!
