Iran beats Kazakhstan 2-1 in Granatkin Cup [VIDEO]

PRESS TV – ST PETERSBURGH, The National Iranian junior football team has beaten Kazakhstan 2-1 in the 25th edition of the international youth football tournament in memory of the first FIFA Vice President Valentin Granatkin.

Iranians started stronger and looked the better team in the first few minutes of the match played on the pitch of Peterburgsky Sports and Concert Complex in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

Saeed Ezzatollahi put the ball into the back of Kazaks’ net only 5 minutes into the match to score the opener for Iran.

The match gained momentum after the break, as Kazaks started playing with much more purpose. They counter-attacked into Iran’s half of the pitch in the 50th minute and slipped the ball into the net to level the score at 1-1.

Yousef Seyyedi replaced Hossein Sha’bani in the 55th minute to give the Iranian team more power and better performance. A few moments later, a right-footed pass got caught up in the feet of Seyyedi, who could pass the ball over the line and make it 2-1 for Iran.

The 25th edition International youth football tournament in memory of the first FIFA Vice President Valentin Granatkin opened on January 5 in Saint Petersburg and will wrap up on January 13.

The tournament is attended by 16 youth teams from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Group A contains Czech Republic, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Lithuania. Group B consists of Russia, Greece, Slovenia and Latvia.

Iran is drawn in Group C along with Turkey, Finland and Kazakhstan.

Group D has Italy, Belgium, Belarus and Saint Petersburg.