BEIJING, 25 July 2004 — Iran pulled off an improbable late escape as holders Japan sailed into the Asian Cup quarterfinals yesterday.
Three-time champions Iran hit back from two goals down to salvage a controversial 2-2 draw with Oman, defender Mohammad Nosrati snatching the equalizer deep into stoppage time. Japan also came from behind to beat Thailand 4-1 and become the second team to book a spot in the last eight.
Unlucky to lose 1-0 to Japan in their opening match, Oman were left heart-broken again after a controversial finish.
The Gulf side, making their Asian Cup debut, were two goals up after a first-half double from striker Imad Ali and the frustration was boiling over among the Iran players.
Defenders Ali Badavi and Rahman Rezaei were involved in a heated row in the 57th minute, slapping each other repeatedly in the face after Rezaei committed a needless foul on the edge of the box.
But Ali Karimi gave Iran a lifeline in the 63rd minute, pulling a goal back through a deflected shot before Nosrati struck with a looping header three minutes into stoppage time.
Nosrati was lucky to be on the pitch after trampling on the back of Oman goalscorer Ali moments before Karimi struck for Iran but referee Abdul Rahman of Bahrain failed to see the incident.
“We were 2-0 up and then there was that bad foul,” fumed Oman’s Czech coach Milan Macala. Iran have four points from two games in Group D after beating Thailand 3-0 in midweek. They need a point from their crunch game against Japan on Wednesday to be sure of reaching the quarterfinals. Like Iran, Japan found themselves behind early on in front of 40,000 spectators in sweltering Chongqing.
Thai striker Sutee Suksomkit gave Japan a jolt in the 12th minute, rifling a left-foot shot past goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi from 25 meters. But Italian-based playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura sparked a Japanese fightback by curling in a 21st-minute free kick for his second goal of the tournament. Defender Yuji Nakazawa scored twice and midfielder Takashi Fukunishi was also on target as Japan outclassed Thailand. Thailand will hope to salvage pride against Oman in their last game.
Uzbekistan were the first team to book their quarterfinal spot on Thursday
