Iran faces Japan on Saturday in the Asian Cup quarter-finals (Getty)

Iran, which was deficient throughout extra time, reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Cup currently being held in Qatar by defeating Syria on penalties 5-3 (regular and extra time 1-1) on Wednesday at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium.

Iran opened the scoring with a penalty kick by Mehdi Taremi (34th), and Syria equalized through Omar Khribin, also from a penalty kick, in the 64th minute.

Penalty kicks Iran 5 - 3 Syria #Iran_Syria #Come_Asia | #AsiaCup2023 #Qatar2023 | #AsianCup2023 #Asian_Cup_Cup_Channels #See_the_Cup pic.twitter.com/NIHKLzKa2V

- Al Kass Channels (@AlkassTVSports) January 31, 2024

In the penalty shootout, Iranian players scored from their five attempts, while Fahd Al-Yousef from Syria failed.

Iran, seeking to win its fourth title and first since 1976, will meet next Saturday in the quarter-finals with Japan, which surpassed Bahrain by beating it 3-1 earlier Wednesday at Education City Stadium.

Source: French