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China down Iran to make first Asian Cup final in 20 years
China squeezed through to their first Asian Cup final in 20 years, downing 10-man Iran in a dramatic penalty shootout to set up a mouthwatering showdown against arch rivals Japan.
China were striving to beat Iran for the first time in a decade, and it is an indication of how far they have come under Dutch coach Arie Haan that they have managed it.
They are now unbeaten in 19 games stretching back to December 2003.
But China were made to fight, failing to capitalise on Iranian defender Sattar Zare's dismissal early in the second half for shoving midfield dynamo Shao Jiayi on the chest.
And they were on the verge of defeat when Zhao Junzhe missed the target in the penalty shootout before Eman Mobati did the same to put the two teams back level, leaving Liu to save the day.
China opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Shao broke down the middle and fed a ball through to the ever dangerous Hao Haidong.
The veteran centre forward shook off a challenge before squaring the ball back to Shao who made no mistake from 12 metres out.
The host nation suffered a setback six minutes later when Hao was stretchered off after colliding with Iranian goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour.
He left the pitch covered in blood from a head injury, opening the door for Manchester City's Sun Jihai, itching for match time after spending most of the tournament on the bench.
Sun took up position in attack and rather than sit in their haunches China pressed forward. They could have had a second with 28 minutes on the clock when captain Li Weifeng's powerful header grazed the crossbar.
But Iran have shown they are not a team to roll over, staging a remarkable turnaround from their early tournament troubles that saw three players suspended for fighting and stamping against Oman.
And Sayyed Alavi brought them level seven minutes from the break, sidefooting past keeper Liu from 25 yards after picking up a pass from Ali Karimi, Iran's hat-trick hero against South Korea.
Iran though saw their hopes dealt a setback soon after the second half started when Sattar Zare was given his marching orders.
The 22-year-old was so distraught he left the pitch in tears.
In a pulsating second 45 minutes, China made the most of the man advantage, dominating midfield but lacking the final killer touch.
And Iran came close to taking the spoils in the last minute of full time, Ali Badavi skewing a shot wide with just Liu to beat.
China's Li Jinyu had a chance for his own moment of glory seconds later but he skied his effort over the Iranian bar from close range. Earlier, Sayyed Alavi, who had been substituted, was sent off the bench for arguing. Japan earlier beat Bahrain 4-3 after extra time in Jinan. |
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