Iran shock China 2-0
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AFC – Zhengzhou, Iran ’s preparations for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ received a boost when they defeated fellow qualifiers China 2-0 in a friendly on Friday.
An unmarked Andranik Teymourian put Afshin Ghotbi’s side ahead six minutes into the restart and Mohammad Gholami doubled the advantage for the visitors a minute before the hour mark.
China put Iran under pressure afterwards and created many chances but their strikers failed to convert them. They found the net in the 70th minute but their goal was ruled out for offside.
“These kind of warm-up games will help us find our best line-up for the AFC Asian Cup,” Ghotbi said.
China coach Gao Hongbo said: “The defeat made us aware of our real strength and our position in Asia. We need to play more Asian rivals of different styles so as to assess whether China are still one of the top teams in the continent.”
Iran will meet Korea Republic in Seoul on Tuesday in another friendly while China will face Paraguay on the same day.
Iran have been drawn along with Iraq, DPR Korea and the UAE for the continental showpiece, while China were placed alongside Kuwait, hosts Qatar and Uzbekistan.
