The men's soccer teams of Iran and Iraq are locked in a fierce battle in the Asian qualifiers, as they are tied for second place in the group stage, vying for the only ticket to the main round of the Asian Cup. The fate of Iran's advancement hinges on a crucial matchup between the third and fourth place finishers in the group. It is worth noting that due to Lebanon's withdrawal from the tournament, the results of the fourth and fifth place finishers are no longer taken into account. Iraq's group stage has come to an end and they have secured second place in the group with three points, three goal difference and four goals in a tightly contested group of only four teams. Iran, on the other hand, are in a more complicated situation. Hong Kong and Syria in the same group are fighting for the third and fourth places. Although Iran has already completed its matches, Syria's matches have yet to be revealed. If Syria wins the third place, Iran's points, goal difference and goals scored will be 3, 3 and 2 respectively; if Hong Kong asks for the third place, Iran's record will become 3, 3 and 8.
The end was revealed as Hong Kong claimed third place in the group with a narrow 2-1 win over Syria. This result makes the Iranian team and Iraqi team in the points and goal difference in the same situation, by virtue of the number of goals scored, smooth progress to the Asian Cup main round. Many fans jokingly said that the Iranian team was "brought into" the Asian Cup by the Chinese team. We would like to congratulate the Iranian team and hope that they will continue to build on their success in the upcoming matches!
