With the approval of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the match started with a minute of silence in honor of the martyrs of Gaza.
The first Group C match was held at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan where Iranian and Palestinian fans displayed a beautiful solidarity throughout the game in support of the people of Gaza. The players of the two teams also walked over to their fans to acknowledge their support.
Three-time champions Iran started the game with a storm and in the first minute, Mehdi Ghayedi's pass reached Saman Ghoddos and then Karim Ansarifard, an experienced Iranian striker, scored the first goal.
Iran were dominate from the off with an early goal to set the tone. In the twelfth minute, Saman Ghoddos sent on a free kick was completed by Shoja Khalilzadeh's timely presence and finisher to give Iran the second goal.
Mehdi Ghayedi scored the third, but then the Palestinian players gave a better performance for a few minutes and designed some attacks from their left, which, of course, did not turn into a chance until Tamer Seyam got one back for Palestine just before the break.
At the beginning of the second half, Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei, brought Sardar Azmoun and Mohammad Mohebi into the field replacing Karim Ansarifard and Mehdi Ghayedi who had scored.
In the 54th minute, Iran's attack from the right and Ghoddos' pass was accompanied by a mistake by the goalkeeper and the opponent's defenders, giving Sardar Azmoun a chance to score a fourth goal for Iran.
In the 90th minute, Alireza Biranvand did not allow Palestinians’ second goal to be scored with a spectacular reaction. Finally, the whistle of the Qatari referee sounded and Iran won four breaks to start as a contender.
Palestine's next game is on Thursday against the UAE. Iran will play Hong Kong the following day.
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