India vs Iran, CAFA Nations Cup 2025 — IND v IRN Highlights, Taremi scores in 3-0 win for Iran
India vs Iran, CAFA Nations Cup 2025 — IND v IRN Highlights, Taremi scores in 3-0 win for Iran
Iran finds goals from Amirhossein, Taremi and Alipourghara to complete a professional victory over India. Though the Blue Tigers showed defensive resilience in the first half, the defending champion’s quality shone through in the second.
GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Jahanbaksh sets up Taremi in the box, and the new Olympiacos signing piles more misery on the tired Indian side with a clinical finish past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Jeakson Singh tries to make the opposition goalkeeper work with a shot from long range — a right-footed hit, which dips but fails to remain on target.
The game has been almost one between an unstoppable force against an immovable object. But the difference in quality eventually caught up, with Taremi and Jahanbaksh taking the field, two players of ample experience in European football.
GOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Taremi draws the defenders towards him to release Jahanbaksh, who takes a shot on target. Gurpreet saves it but the ball ricochets off the bar. Ali Aliporghara gets a boot to it to then rattle the net and double the lead.
Jithin wins the ball in the midfield and makes a run into the final third. He tries to set up Naorem Mahesh Singh in the box. However, Niazmandghader gets to the ball first to end that attack.
India makes another attacking change after bringing on Jithin MS. This time, Chhangte replaces Ashique. Jithin then comes on to the left flank while Chhangte takes charge on the opposite wing.
Iran fails to find an opening through the centre but keeps stretching India’s defence with play across the flanks. And the referee pauses play for the second cooling break of the match.
Iran brings two star players, Alireza Jahanbaksh and Mehdi Taremi, for Mehran Ahmadi and Mahdi Rahimabadi.
Meanwhile, Iran’s star striker Mehdi Taremi is warming up for Iran. The World No. 20-ranked side looks to add insult to injury as the match progresses into the final quarter.
India wins the ball in its half, but Irfan fails to get to the counterattack. Meanwhile, Jithin MS might be one of the players coming on soon as Khalid Jamil looks to shuffle his pack.
GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!! Zadegan sets up Amirhossein with a cross fromfrom in front of the box. Rahul Bheke misses the cross as Amirhossein makes no mistake to then find the net. Iran was on the prowl for nearly an hour. It finally has a goal to show for it.
Iran tries to find a gap in the Indian defence through aerial attack, but this time the orange wall of India clears again. Seconds later, another cross is set in by Iran, and Anwar clears again.
In: Jeakson Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Out: Suresh Singh, Danish Farooq
India looks to have shifted to a 4-3-3 formation while trying an attack but returns to a 4-5-1 shape when without the ball — quite a dynamic approach against Iran that has failed to find a breakthrough so far in this match.
India, a side placed 112 spots below Iran in the FIFA rankings, has stuck to a rather defensive style of play, where it has congested the centre, denying any build-up through the middle. That has left Iran with only one option: go for attacks from the flanks, with Anwar and Jhingan instructed to clear the crosses.
The tale of the first half has been Iran constantly testing and trying India’s defence, and whichever time it has beaten the lower block, Gurpreet has come to India’s rescue. The match now resumes, and it remains to be seen if the next half will follow the same story.
The referee blows the half-time whistle as Iran fails to break the deadlock against a defensively resilient Indian team, coached by Khalid Jamil.
Iran looks to stitch together something in the last few minutes of the first half, but its first cross in the box is blocked by Jhingan and the other by Anwar.
Hazbavi is playing as a ball-playing defender and pairs with Cheshmi to get the ball up front. However, India looks determined to maintain a heavy low block to run out the first half, with the score as 0-0.
Naderi delivers a cross from the left, and one of Iran’s players gets a head to the ball; however, the header is off-target. Iran tries another shot from distance, which is blocked by the Indian defence.
Ramin and Hazbavi combine at the back, with the former delivering a cross into the box, which is cleared by Sandesh Jhingan. India has six men at the back at the moment.
Iran attacks from a quick free-kick, but Rahul Bheke tracks back to get the ball off the Central Asian giant.
Iran tries another shot, this time a left-footed hit from inside the box, and Gurpreet meets it with equal quality, going to the ground to make another save.
As the match resumes after a cooling break, India looks to try and find some attacking space — Vikram sprints into the final third to whip in a cross, which is cleared by Iran.
Rahimabadi poses another challenge for India, seconds after the save, as he gets the ball in the box and tries a strike, which flies miles over the net.
Omid gets the ball in the box, beats the marking and then whips in a looped shot on the far post. However, Gurpreet makes another save.
Another of Iran’s chances is foiled when a low cross from the right is kicked out by Jhingan for a corner. Meanwhile, Ahmadi looks to have picked up an injury as Iran’s medical team attends to him.
Ramin takes a corner for Iran this time. Zadegan leaps to get to the ball, but his header is off-target, keeping the score 0-0.
Suresh takes a corner kick, which Iran clears, but then Nikhil Prabhu runs in to latch onto the loose ball, which goes out after a deflection. Suresh takes the corner again, this time from the right side, which Iran tries to clear, but Ashique gets to the ball. He is fouled to stop play for an Indian free-kick.
Mahdi makes a run into the box, beats two India defenders but his final shot is saved by Gurpreet. The resulting corner is cleared by the Indian defence.
Iran chooses to build up slowly, starting with Naderi and Hazbavi at the back. But its advances along the left are thwarted. It goes for the right this time, but the shot is off-target.
Iran tries another attack, this time along the right flank. Ashique tracks back in time to deny any cross, conceding a corner. From the corner, Hazbavi tries a header that goes off-target.
Iran tries a set-play, with Amir whipping in a ball from the right. However, Jhingan spots it to make a timely block, getting the ball out of play for an Iran throw-in.
Danish Farooq tries to clear the ball but is challenged by Iran from behind, going down in pain. The referee keeps the cards in his pocket but gives a free-kick, which is quickly taken by India.
Gurpreet kicks the ball long as Vikram and Irfan chase the ball in the final third. But Iranian goalkeeper Niaz takes charge of the ball to put that build-up to bed.
Iran gets a corner kick on the left. Omid takes the kick, but the ball is headed out for another corner. The next corner is shot at goal again by Iran, resulting in another corner. That is cleared only till Cheshmi, who shoots off-target for a goal kick.
Iran takes an early shot from out of the box, prompting a save by Gurpreet. The Indian goalkeeper had a stellar performance against Tajikistan and will look to continue the same against Iran.
India is looking to play with a very heavy low block, with only Irfan Yadwad up front. Almost every Iranian in the midfield and defence has an orange shirt marking them.
India tries to go for an early attack as Uvais sets up Irfan in the box. However, the Chennaiyin FC forward loses the ball as Iran tries to get composed early on.
The referee blows the whistle to get the match started, with India playing the first half from left to right while Iran begins from the other end.
The players walk out to the field for their second match in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025. India starts in orange while Iran takes the field in white.
“Tournaments like the CAFA Nations Cup offer teams valuable opportunities to compete and celebrate football,” said FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström.
“FIFA is committed to supporting events like these, working together with our confederations, regional associations and FIFA Member Associations to look at ways of arranging more competitive matches between national teams and clubs within zones or regions. FIFA is proud to stand alongside CAFA in making this tournament a platform for growth, passion and unforgettable moments.”
“The win in the last game was a huge motivation for us, but the main thing right now is for us to be ready for the Iran game. We’ve had two days to recover, and now we need to ensure that everyone is fresh when we face Iran,” Jamil said.
India and Iran both come into the match with wins, with the former beating host Tajikistan 2-1 and the latter beating Afghanistan 3-1.
Niazmandghader, Rezaeiansemeskandi, Naderi, Hazbavi, Amirhossein, Zadegan, Cheshmi, Rahimabadi, Ahmadi, Aliyari, Omid Nor Afkan
The senior Indian men’s national football team, after defeating host Tajikistan last week, is now gearing up for a clash against Asian powerhouse Iran at the Hisor Central Stadium on Monday.
India head coach Khalid Jamil credited the win to the collective effort of the group.
“The win was all down to the unity that the players showed on the pitch. They all worked in unison. Not only the players, but the entire staff – the technical, non-technical, and medical staff all worked together, and the unity within the team is visible,” Jamil told aiff.com on the eve of the match.
Published on Sep 01, 2025
