DOHA, Qatar – After 107 minutes of chaos, 107 minutes of controversy, intensity and moving moments, Qatar will play in its second consecutive Asian Cup final after defeating Iran 3-2 at Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday night.
They will attempt to defend their Asian crown against Jordan at Lusail Stadium on Saturday, seeking to become the first back-to-back champions since Japan did so in the 2000 and 2004 editions.
And they have a lot to thank their star, their talisman, Akram Afif, plus Almoez Ali being in the right place at the right time, some of the most impressive extra time minutes in recent times and one of the saves. Meshaal Barsham's most dramatic performances ever seen.
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With the seconds ticking away and elimination staring them in the face, Iran rushed forward desperately in Doha. 13 minutes of extra time had been shown on the fourth referee's board and were gone; The game was at the mercy of the referee and at any time he had added stoppages after the 90th.
With the clock reading 105, the ball fell kindly to substitute Reza Asadi for a shot, one that veered off target until it received a wicked touch from Ahmed Fathi and was redirected in the opposite direction, back into the bottom corner.
However, somehow Barsham reacted, returning to his left and taking a corner. It almost defied all reason that he could have done it, but he had done it.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh had hit the post two minutes earlier to give him a gift, and now he took advantage with a save that will be remembered for a long time.
His counterpart Alireza Beiranvand advanced from the next corner and stayed awake as Iran camped in search of one last moment of heartbreaking magic, but there were to be no more twists.
Amid the excitement, the two sides clashed as the Qatari players moved to celebrate with their fans on the touchline after the whistle, emotions boiling over for the Iranian players at the end of a match that will inevitably see much more controversy in the hours and days. following.
Iran had won its last six matches against Qatar before Wednesday, including a 4-0 win at the Jordan International Tournament last October. They had outscored the Maroons 11-1 in those games. But that night was not like that.
Throughout a chaotic first half, defined by its frenetic energy, back-and-forth lunges and counterattacks and, yes, a significant controversy that continued into the second stanza, it was Afif who emerged from the maelstrom to lead his team out of a complicated situation. deficit and gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish: he set up Jassem Gaber's goal in the 17th minute before firing a laser into the top corner of the net in the 43rd.
It was the attacker's fifth goal in this Asian Cup, in addition to his tournament-leading third assist, keeping his team in a match against an Iranian team desperate to end their seventh consecutive exit in the Asian Cup semi-finals and had eclipsed the opening 45. Meanwhile, that drought will now extend at least until 2027, a streak of 47 years.
They had the lead after just four minutes, when a long throw-in from Jahanbakhsh was headed first by Iran's Saeid Ezatolahi and then by Qatar's Ró-Ró before being met by an acrobatic bicycle kick from Sardar Azmoun, tucking his boot in and guiding it in . beyond Barsham.
The deafening noise inside showed what it meant to the Iranian fans, what was at stake in the match. And in case it wasn't obvious, the furious pace that the game quickly adopted gave a clear demonstration.
Caution was thrown to the wind and two sides desperate to reach the final threw everything they could at each other.
Moments after Azmoun's goal, while the Iranian fans were still celebrating, Afif was already finding space and finishing with his right foot a shot that was held by Beiranvand; The stop added an extra layer of noise to the cacophonous drums and cheers coming from behind the target.
More golden chances for Iran followed and, on another night, they would probably have gone 2-0 up. But Afif, involved in what seemed to be almost all of his team's promising moves, then made his mark: He cut the ball for Jassem at the top of the Iranian penalty area, and the resulting shot took a wicked deflection off Ezatolahi and away from Beiranvand. .
Iran was furious. And not just because they had seen their advantage evaporate.
Moments earlier, a long clearance from Beiranvand had set up Mehdi Taremi, only for the attacker to be brought down by a desperate last-minute challenge. The Iranians wanted a penalty, but their appeals fell on the deaf ears of the referee and the VAR review as the Qataris grabbed the equalizer.
And therein lies another of the main talking points of the contest, a predictable one, because refereeing would inevitably become a flashpoint on Wednesday, especially after Iran raised complaints about Ahmad Al Ali's appointment before the match.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei and his staff waited for the referee and his team as they headed towards the tunnel at the half-time break, moments after his team received an appeal for a penalty for handball on Lucas Mendes, already dismissed Jahanbakhsh He was denied one last chance to pitch on a long toss.
Before all this, Qatar had found its second place and the lead. And it inevitably came through Afif.
Having come close on several occasions before that, a sliding challenge alerted him to win the ball back and a quick forward pass by Fathi found him in a meter of space on the left side of the edge of the Iranian penalty area.
But when the next moment of contention arrived, just a few seconds into the second quarter, it was in favor of Ghalenoei's team: Fathi covered his face with his arms while Ezatolahi launched a shot and a VAR review determined that it was a handball. . , with Jahanbakhsh burying the resulting penalty.
With the wind in their favor, the following exchanges were controlled by the Iranians.
Waves of attacks were coming and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they found another way through. Ghalenoei, after apologizing to the Iranian people, said it was one of the best second parts his team had produced during his tenure. He then went on to declare Wednesday one of the worst days of his life.
But Qatar survived and found its way back.
A deflected shot from outside the penalty area by substitute Abdulaziz Hatem went straight to Almoez, who took advantage of his gift by turning and firing the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
At first glance it looked like he was comfortably offside, but neither the assistant referee nor the VAR disallowed the goal. He would stand. Qatar led.
When VAR stepped in to upgrade what had initially been a yellow card for Shoja' Khalilzadeh on Afif and upgraded it to red, one would have been forgiven for thinking Iran were done for and yet they went ahead, forcing Qatar to desperately defend their only scoring margin.
However, when the dust settled, they maintained the lead – the final whistle was eventually drowned out immediately by the explosion of noise from the home fans in their second consecutive final.
