The teams for the AFC Asian Cup 2024 quarter-finals have been confirmed following the conclusion of the last Round of 16 game between Iran and Syria.
The thrilling game went into the penalties after it ended 1-1 at full-time, followed by 30 minutes of extra time.
Eventually, Iran held their nerves to bag a decisive 5-3 penalty shootout win.
Both goals in the game came from the penalty spot. Iran took the lead in the 34th minute when Mehdi Taremi netted the goal while Syria levelled in the 64th minute courtesy of Omar Khiribin.
Earlier, Japan maintained their pursuit of a record-extending fifth Asian Cup title by advancing to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win against Bahrain.
The pre-tournament favourite have bounced back from a surprise 2-1 loss against Iraq in the group stage and will play either Iran or Syria in the next round.
Goals from Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo and Ayase Ueda secured Japan’s place in the last eight, while Zion Suzuki’s goal was Bahrain's only consolation.
Bahrain had advanced as the winner of Group E ahead of another of the pre-tournament favourites, South Korea. They may have considered themselves unfortunate, then, to face four-time champion Japan in the round of 16, which finished runner-up in Group D.
Japan went ahead in the 31st minute when Seiya Maikuma’s long-range shot came back off the post and Doan converted on the rebound.
Kubo doubled the lead four minutes into the second half when he spun and finished from close range.
Bahrain were given hope of a comeback in the 64th as Sayed Baqer’s powerful header was parried into the air by Suzuki.
The Japan goalkeeper then tried to catch the ball, but collided with Ayase, who was attempting to head clear off the goal line and the ball was fumbled into the net.
Ayase restored Japan’s two-goal advantage eight minutes later when firing low at the near post to beat Bahrain keeper Ebrahim Lutfalla.
Asian Cup Quarter-finals Schedule
Matches on February 2, Friday
Tajikistan vs Jordan
Australia vs South Korea
Matches on February 3, Saturday
Japan vs Iran
Qatar vs Uzbekistan
Earlier, as per the competition format, the 24 men's football teams were divided into six groups (Group A to F) for the group phase.
Teams in each group played against each other once in a single-headed round-robin format, and the top two teams from each group directly qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Round of 16 which concluded.
