Match Report
9 points for Iran (1st), 6 for Japan (2nd): a 3-point gap. Recent form told a different story for Japan: only 6th in the league over the last five rounds despite sitting 2nd. Against a league average of 1.21 goals per team per game, Iran ran at 2.33 scored and 0.67 conceded, Japan at 2.67 and 1.67.
14 matches unbeaten backed Iran's arrival, having scored in 14 consecutive games.
Education City Stadium in Ar Rayyan, capacity 45,350, hosted the game. With 100 matches recorded and 1.9 yellow cards per game, N. Ma was the man in the middle. Half-time and full-time told different stories: Japan led 1-0 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 2-1.