AFC - Islamic Republic of Iran’s hopes of making the knockout stages of the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 suffered a dent as they failed to win for a second time in two tries, drawing 0-0 against Japan on Monday.

Both teams were denied by the woodwork on several occasions, with IR Iran seeing an early effort bounce off the line and out, but it was a night of frustration for the two teams as they cancelled each other out.

A fine free kick delivery from Ritsu Doan on the left flank handed Japan their first real chance in only the 5th minute, curling to the far post where Yuta Nakayama had made a fine run.

The Japanese defender’s header was slightly off target though, as it rattled the crossbar and ended up in a sea of bodies, with the East Asians unable to take advantage of the goalmouth scramble.

Three minutes later, IR Iran replied in kind after some end-to-end action.

A clever piece of hold-up play from Reza Karmollachaab saw him bring the ball down before laying it back for Reza Shekari, whose 30-yard shot crashed off the underside of the crossbar before bouncing agonisingly on the line and out.

Shunta Nakamura then escaped Aref Gholami’s attentions in the box up the other end, but the defender made amends by recovering quickly to deflect Nakamura’s shot onto the upright.


Despite the feisty start, neither side was able to carve out many more clear-cut chances and the teams went into the break with the score deadlocked at 0-0.

Doan was in the thick of the action soon after the restart, cutting in from the wing and taking a swerving shot at goal from just outside the box but goalkeeper Shahab Adeli did well to parry the ball away.

The stage was set for a frantic finish to the game as both sides failed to make any inroads as the second half wore on.

Doan’s cheeky backheel in the 80th minute picked out Koji Miyoshi in the box but the the midfielder’s close-range effort was blocked by Adeli.

Yuto Iwasaki’s awkward flying follow-up volley then flashed wide of the right post as the attacker looked towards the sky in frustration.

A minute later, Reza Jafari was sent racing free on the counter for IR Iran as Japanese goalkeeper Ryosuke Kojima came dangerously out of his box to meet him but although the Iranian substitute rounded him easily, his tame shot was intercepted by Nakayama and the chance was wasted.

There was still time for one last chance as an Iranian free kick was pumped long into the box but Jafari was denied once again as his stooping header came off the woodwork and the ball was cleared.


IR Iran coach Amir Peiravani
"My team were organised and disciplined today, with the players covering space well. They played very well on the counter, there's a good culture here and they help each other play well.

"Japan had more possession tonight but this was intentional. We gave them the ball and then denied them space. We didn't give them the chance to move the ball or play well. We changed the plan after half-time to attack Japan with quick transitions from defence to attack and created many chances."

Japan coach Atsushi Uchiyama
"I expected a tough game before this match. We started passing the ball well and had a good flow but lacked accuracy and quality in attack. The second half we tried to correct this and did better but still couldn't finish.

"Our defence did well coping with the opponents' height, I think we did well because we did not concede. Overall, it was a good game from the players. Of course we wanted the three points, but I'm OK with a draw."