AFC Asian Cup 2023 – Round of 16: Iran vs. Syria [Preview]

Sportsmole.co.uk – DOHA, Making their first appearance in the knockout stage of the Asian Cup, Syria will face Iran in round of 16 action on Wednesday at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Team Melli finished top of Group C, claiming a 2-1 victory versus the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on matchday three, while the Syrians qualified as one of the best third-place sides, defeating India 1-0 in their previous encounter.

Match Preview:

For an eighth successive time at the Asian Cup, Iran have qualified for the knockout stage, extending their unbeaten run in the group stage of this tournament to 23 matches.

It is the third time in the past four Asian Cups that the Iranians finished the group phase with a 100% record, as they are now unbeaten in 16 consecutive matches in all competitions.

Iran have not lost to an Asian opponent in nearly two years, with South Korea being the last one to defeat them in a March 2022 World Cup qualifier (2-0).

While they have had plenty of success in the group portion of this tournament, that has not always translated into positive results in these single-elimination games, with Iran advancing beyond their opening Asian Cup knockout fixture just once in their previous four attempts.

Since exiting the 2022 World Cup group stage with a 1-0 defeat versus the USA, Team Melli have only conceded the opening goal in three matches, coming back to earn a positive result each time.

Under Amir Ghalenoei, Iran have found the back of the net in every one of their competitive fixtures since he took charge following their elimination from the 2022 World Cup.

The relentlessness of Syria on matchday three eventually paid off, as they scored the winning goal with fewer than 15 minutes remaining, keeping their Asian Cup hopes alive.

In the opening round, Hector Cuper’s men were well-disciplined defensively, conceding just a single goal in three matches, the fewest ever for Syria in the group phase of this competition.

Syria have not played in a tournament knockout fixture since capturing the 2012 West Asian Football Federation Championship in 2012.

They have shown tremendous resilience since a 5-0 defeat versus Japan last November, conceding a goal or fewer in four of their previous five outings, losing only once during that stretch (1-0 versus Australia).

The Syrians have only suffered one defeat since the start of 2023 when finding the back of the net, losing 2-1 versus Kuwait last October.

You have to go all the way back to May 1973 to find the one and only time that Syria claimed a victory against Iran (1-0), while they have been held scoreless in four successive meetings versus Team Melli.

Team News

Sadegh Moharrami will be out for the rest of the tournament after the Iranian defender ruptured his ACL in their victory over the UAE and was replaced by Ramin Rezaeian.

Shojae Khalilzadeh and Ali Gholizadeh were back in the starting 11 for Iran on Tuesday after both missed matchday two due to knocks, while captain Ehsan Hajsafi collected his 140th cap, putting him nine away from the all-time record set by Javad Nekounam.

Mehdi Taremi notched a brace in their matchday three triumph, drawing even with Mehdi Ghayedi for the most on the Iranian squad in this competition (two).

Syria only had two new faces who did not feature on matchday two see the field in their final group fixture, with Alaa Al Dali and Mouhamad Anez coming on as substitutes against India in place of Ammar Ramadan and Mahmoud Al Aswad.

Fahd Youssef is eight caps away from 50, Amro Jenyat needs five more appearances to reach that mark and Moayad Ajan can get to 70 in this fixture.

Omar Khribin replaced Pablo Sabbag in the second half on matchday three, scoring the winning goal, his 22nd with the national team, while Ahmad Madania only had to make one stop to collect the clean sheet.

Iran possible starting lineup:
Beiranvand; Rezaeian, Kanaanizadegan, Hosseini, Hajsafi; Ghoddos, Cheshmi; Mohebi, Taremi, Ghayedi, Ansarifard

Syria possible starting lineup:
Madania; Weiss, Ousou, Krouma, Ajan; Al Aswad, Elias, Ham, Anez; Hesar, Sabbag

Prediction: Iran 2-0 Syria

Syria have shown they can compete with the best sides in this region, but we believe Iran will be too much for them to handle, given their experience and ability to handle these pressure situations.