Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tabriz: Iran sealed their place in the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 on Sunday when a convincing 6-0 hammering of Bahrain saw them finish top of Group E with a 100% record, with India, who will host next year’s continental competition, defeated Lebanon by an identical scoreline to finish second.
Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi immediately put Iran on the road to their third straight victory when he opened the scoring barely a minute after Turkmen referee Charymurat Kurbanov’s whistle had signalled the start of Sunday’s match at the Gostaresh Foolad Stadium.
Mohammad Shafiri doubled the lead in the 18th minute with the first of his brace before Iran skipper Mohsen Godarazi got his name on the scoresheet on the stroke of half time as the home side into the break with a commanding three-goal cushion.
That lead was extended to four just six minutes after the restart when Shafiri scored his second of the match and after substitute Erfan Sadeghi struck number five in the 65th minute, defender Mohammadreza Davari capped the 6-0 victory with a minute of the second half remaining.
Meanwhile in the other Group E encounter which kicked-off simultaneously over at the Yadegar Emmam Stadium, India matched Iran in scoring six times without reply against Lebanon as the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 hosts ended their campaign in second place, three points behind Iran who defeated the South Asians 3-0 on Match Day 2.
Lebanon were far from out of the contest going into the half-time interval with Ghoulam Ghadar’s side trailing by just a single goal after Suresh Singh Wangjam had put India 1-0 up in the 29th minute.
But a strong second-half showing from the South Asians saw the match end with a decidedly one-sided scoreline as the Lebanese goal was breached five more times in the last 20 minutes, with Wangjam weighing in with two more to complete his hat-trick.
The India midfielder scored his second in the 71st minute before going on to conclude the scoring with a minute remaining following a 75th minute own goal from Lebanon defender Habib Antoine Baladi and subsequent strikes from midfielder Komal Thatal (77th) and India skipper Amarjit Singh Kiyam (80th).
Eleven group winners and four best second-placed teams will join India in next year’s finals, with the tournament hosts receiving an automatic qualification. Should India finish top of their qualifying group or among the four best second-placed teams, the fifth best second-placed nation will qualify for the final competition.