IR Iran edge Uzbekistan to retain title
Pa Alam News Agency
The win over Uzbekistan was Iran’s third of the tournament, having defeated Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan earlier in the round-robin competition.
Tajikistan finished third on the standings after beating Kyrgyz Republic 4-2.
Iran, who lifted the inaugural title last year, opened their 2023 campaign with a commanding 5-0 win over Kyrgyz Republic, before cruising past Tajikistan with 16 unanswered goals.
Uzbekistan also entered Monday’s tie having defeated Kygryz Republic 6-1 and Tajikistan 7-1 to set up an exciting final round.
Uzbekistan opened the scoring in the fourth minute with Gulzoda Almirova becoming the first player to score against Iran this year, but the defending champions bounced back to take the lead in the first half with Sara Shirbeigi (two goals) and Mahsa Kamali finding the back of the net to make it 3-1.
Uzbekistan, who lost 5-2 to Iran in 2022, fought back in the second half with Lyudmila Karachik scoring in the 23rd and 26th minutes, before Amirova put the hosts in front seven minutes later.
But Uzbekistan were undone by Iran in the 35th minute when Fereshteh Karimi slotted home her sixth goal of the tournament, before Kamali struck the winner just moments later.
Shirbeigi won the top scorer award with eight goals, six of which were scored against Tajikistan, while Karimi was named the Most Valuable Player.
Source: FFIRI
Pa Alam News Agency – Ahmad Basati Nazari
