Qatar can become the third nation this century to qualify for the Asian Cup final on consecutive occasions when they battle Iran on Wednesday at Al Thumama Stadium.

Team Melli defeated Japan 2-1 in the quarter-finals, converting a stoppage time penalty to claim victory, while the reigning champions took out Uzbekistan on penalties after their fixture ended in a 1-1 draw.

Match preview

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For a second successive Asian Cup campaign, Iran are through to the semi-finals, extending their unbeaten run to 18 matches in all competitions.

Saturday was a moment of redemption for Amir Ghalenoei, who was in charge of Iran at the 2007 Asian Cup when they crashed out in the last eight on penalties versus South Korea.

While Iran boast an array of talented players who feature at clubs across the top European leagues, it is their heart which has taken them to this stage of the competition, surviving a scare in the last 16, while earning their first come-from-behind triumph at this tournament since 2011 (2-1 win over Iraq) on Saturday.

With a victory on Wednesday, Iran would advance to their first Asian Cup final since 1976, when they hosted and won the event, with Team Melli having lost their last six semi-final fixtures at this tournament.

The Iranians have never been in front at an Asian Cup semi-final since 1988 when Saudi Arabia beat them on penalties after the match wound up tied at one.

Iran are unbeaten in their last 10 matches versus Qatar, winning six successive encounters against them while failing to concede in six of their previous seven meetings with the Maroons.

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In what was a quarter-final roller coaster, the Qataris were able to come out on top, thanks to some outstanding goalkeeping.

A goalkeeping error from Utkir Yusupov put the hosts in front, and despite missing two penalties in the shootout, Uzbekistan were thwarted three times from the spot, enabling the Maroons to win a second successive Asian Cup quarter-final after crashing out at this stage on two previous occasions (2000 and 2011).

Ahead of the Asian Cup knockout stage, Tintin Marquez had only seen his side concede once in six competitive fixtures, though they have given up a goal in both the round of 16 and quarter-finals of this competition, which is one more than they allowed in the 2019 Asian Cup knockout phase.

With a victory on Wednesday, they would become the first host nation to reach the final of this competition since Australia in 2015 and just the third in the 2000s to advance into that decisive game.

Thanks to their dramatic victory on Saturday, they are the first defending champion to make it beyond the quarter-finals of this tournament since Japan in 2007 (fourth place).

The Maroons are unbeaten in 12 successive Asian Cup affairs and have not lost a knockout fixture at this competition since the 2011 quarter-finals (3-2 versus Japan).

Team News

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Iran are likely to be without Sadegh Moharrami for this match due to a cruciate ligament injury, Majid Hosseini is dealing with a sore ankle, while Mehdi Taremi missed their quarter-final clash through suspension.

There were four changes made to the Iranian starting 11 in the last eight, with Milad Mohammadi, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Omid Ebrahimi and Mohammad Mohebi replacing Ehsan Hajsafi, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Taremi and Mehdi Ghayedi.

Mohebi notched the equaliser for Iran against Japan over the weekend before Alireza Jahanbakhsh put home the winner from the penalty spot.

Reserve goalkeeper Salah Zakaria is the only injury concern of note for Qatar heading into this encounter, with the 24-year-old dealing with an unknown problem.

There were two newcomers in the Qatari starting 11 over the weekend who did not begin their last 16 fixture, as Al-Mahdi Ali Mukhtar and Tarek Salman replaced Boualem Khoukhi and Bassam Al-Rawi.

Meshaal Barsham stopped three Uzbekistan penalties, providing a reprieve for Mukhtar and Almoez Ali, who missed their spot kicks, allowing Ro-Ro to send them through by converting their decisive fifth penalty.

Iran possible starting lineup:
Beiranvand; Rezaeian, Kanaanizadegan, Khalilzadeh, Hajsafi; Ezatolahi, Ghoddos; Jahanbakhsh, Taremi, Mohebi; Azmoun

Qatar possible starting lineup:
Barsham; Al-Rawi, Mukhtar, Mendes; Ro-Ro, Gaber, Fatehi, Al-Haydos, Muneer; Ali, Afif

We say: Iran 0-1 Qatar

This match could go either way, as both sides have been pushed to the limit and found a way to escape some very difficult situations.

We are giving the hosts the edge, however, because of their defensive organisation and experience in close games and knockout fixtures.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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