Our national team lost 4-1 to its Iranian counterpart in the match that took place between them yesterday evening at Rashid Stadium in Dubai, UAE, in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Al-Anabi took the lead with a goal by Al-Moez Ali in the 17th minute, and Azmoun (two goals) and Mohamed Mohebi (two goals) scored for Iran in the 42nd, 48th, 65th and 98th minutes. Iran raised its score to 10 points in the lead, and Al-Anabi’s score stopped at 4 points in fourth place.
Al-Anabi performed well in the first half and advanced by a goal, and outperformed the Iranian team, which found it very difficult to reach the net except in the last minutes, when the Iranian team came back with the equalizer. In the second half, Al-Anabi disappeared after conceding in the first minutes the second goal after a strange scenario where it went out. Mashal Barshim saved one of the balls and collided with his teammate Lucas Mendez, and Azmoun found the ball easily to score the second goal.
The beginning was difficult and strong due to the fierce struggle that took place between the two teams in the central area in order to control this vital area and then control the field. Al-Anabi dealt intelligently with the opponent, as he put pressure on his defense to prevent him from numerical superiority, and he was able to reach To Al-Moez to score the first goal, and Al-Anabi was close to the second goal, as the Iranian team was somewhat confused before it came back and rearranged its cards and began to control and threaten the goal to succeed in the equalizer from a cross that reached Azmoun’s head completely unattended inside the area, which he shot into the net, recording the equalizer.
Despite the tie, Annabi held on and resumed the attack, getting a corner kick in the last minute from which they almost scored the second goal, had Boualem Khoukhi’s header not hit the crossbar.
In the 48th minute, from a ball that Mashal wanted to scatter, he collided with Lucas Mendez, creating an easy ball for Azmoun, from which he scored the second goal, which affected Al-Anabi and the morale of his players. Iran took advantage of the situation and began to impose its control over the course of the game, and succeeded in the 65th minute in scoring the third goal from a counterattack. Azmoun penetrated into the area and passed a cross to Mohamed Mohebi, who easily shot it into the net, scoring the third goal.
Lopez made several offensive changes with the participation of Abdel Rahman Mustafa, Ismail Mohamed, and Ibrahim Al-Hassan to restore the attack, and in the last minute of stoppage time, Iran succeeded in snatching the fourth goal, headed by Mohamed Mohebi after a cross ball that reached him, ending the match in favor of the Iranians with a score of four. Iran tops the standings of Group A with 10 points, while Uzbekistan ranks second, 4 each for the UAE and Qatar, 3 for Kyrgyzstan, and 2 points for North Korea.
Lopez: We will fight for our chances
The Spanish national team coach, Marcos Lopez, expressed his sadness after losing to Iran 4-1 in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup. The coach said in the press conference that followed after the match that took place in Rashid Stadium in Dubai, where he said: We congratulate the Iranian team on the victory, especially because they performed well. Better than us, and in general the match witnessed many changes, especially since we started well and succeeded in scoring first and had another opportunity to increase the score at the beginning of the second half. On the other hand, the Iranian national team had many opportunities, including in the post, then they scored two goals, and this is football. I congratulate them and they were the best. Lopez added: Our goal has not changed, which is to qualify for the World Cup, and the opportunity still exists, although the group includes good teams such as Uzbekistan and Iran. In general, the task is not easy, but the opportunity to qualify is available, and we must fight for our chances until the last breath. There are still matches and many points. We must strive to obtain it.