AFC Asian Cup: Hong Kong frighten powerhouse Iran, but narrow defeat leaves progress hingeing on Palestine encounter
- Hong Kong have lost their opening two matches in Qatar despite a pair of competitive performances
- Victory over Palestine on Tuesday would clinch third place in Group C and raise the prospect of last-16 progress
Hong Kong will have to beat Palestine on Tuesday to have any chance of progressing to the next stage of the Asian Cup after a 1-0 defeat by Iran in Al Rayyan on Saturday morning.
The bare details of Hong Kong’s fate do not begin to tell the story of a breathless performance from Jorn Andersen’s side.
Iran are now unbeaten in 15 matches since the 2022 Fifa World Cup, and of their 13 victories in that sequence, few can have been as hard-earned as this, with Mehdi Ghayedi’s 24th-minute goal all that separated the two sides.
For long periods, Hong Kong suffocated Iran, who could not catch their breath in the face of their opponents’ furious hounding, tackling, and chasing.
It was a performance that underlined the impact head coach Andersen has had on the city’s national team over two years in charge. There was a time not long ago when Hong Kong would have treated this assignment with utmost caution.
At a vibrant Khalid International Stadium, their bold approach should have had them level at the midway point. Hong Kong had two fabulous first-half opportunities, both gift-wrapped by their opponents’ defensive mistakes.
