DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Almoez Ali fired Qatar into the Asian Cup final with a 3-2 win over Iran on Wednesday.
The forward struck the decisive goal in the 82nd minute at Al Thumama Stadium to settle a thrilling semifinal.
Host and defending champion Qatar will play Jordan in Saturday’s final at Lusail Stadium, where Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup for Argentina in 2022.
Ali was the leading scorer when Qatar won the Asian Cup in 2019 but has been overshadowed by strike-partner Akram Afif this time around.
Ali came up with a crucial finish to preserve his country’s hopes for back-to-back titles after a game that saw both teams give up winning positions.
Sardar Azmoun fired Iran into the lead with an overhead kick in the fourth minute. Qatar responded with a deflected equalizer from Jassem Gaber in the 17th and Afif scored his fifth goal of the tournament with a brilliant individual effort in the 43rd — cutting into the box and lashing a shot beyond Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
Iran leveled the game again six minutes into the second half from the penalty spot as Alireza Jahanbakhsh converted after a handball from Ahmed Fathy.
But Ali, who scored nine goals in the 2019 tournament, grabbed his second of this campaign when he fired low from inside the box late on.
Iran was reduced to 10 men when Shoja Khalilzadeh was sent off for a foul on Afif, but Jahanbakhsh still came close to forcing extra time by hitting the post in the 14th minute of stoppage time.
Qatar keeper Meshaal Barsham also had to produce a last-gasp save to deny Reza Asadi before the final whistle blew.
“Today was one of the worst days I’ve had in my life,” Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said. “Our second-half performance was one of the best performances we’ve had. We missed a lot of opportunities.
“This is football. When you don’t get what you want from your chances you are going to be punished and this is what happened today.”
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