World NewsIran Double Enough To Kill Off Kuwait |
IRAN eased to a comfortable Group Five World Cup qualifying win over Kuwait at Azadi Stadium on Sunday.
Javad Nekounam and Gholamreza Rezaei scored the goals for Iran who finished top of the table, while Kuwait suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom, having conceded 12 goals in six matches.Rezaei had the first chance of the game early on when he broke free of the defence but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Nawaf Al Khaldi.
Iran opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Nekounam drilled a fine effort from 40 yards into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Kuwait were dealt a blow at the end of the first-half when prolific striker Ahmed Ajab departed with an injury, but they improved after the break and came close to equalising in the 54th minute.
Khaled Khalaf fired wide when well placed before Saleh Al Shaikh sent his shot over the bar three minutes later.
The Iranians had penalty appeals waved away just before the hour mark when Hossein Kaebi looked to have been fouled inside the area.
Iran thought they had doubled their lead in the 80th minute when Rezaei found the back of the net from inside the box, but the goal was ruled out for offside
The hosts though did seal the points in the third minute of stoppage time as Rezaei finally got on the scoresheet with a smart finish.
Copyright (c) 2008 Press Association
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