The national football teams of Iran and Bahrain took on each other as part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 on Tuesday and the match ended 0-1 for the host tiny Persian Gulf Arab country.
The match was held in the national Bahrain Stadium in Manama and the only goal was scored on a penalty shootout in the minute of 65.
This was Iran's first loss after two successive wins in the competition. The Iranian players had defeated Hong Kong 2-0 in their first match in September in Group C of the competitions, followed by an astonishing 14-0 victory over Cambodia.
Iran has been drawn in Group C alongside Iraq, Bahrain, Cambodia and Hong Kong.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals and the final round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The next best 24 teams from the second round of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the 24-team AFC Asian Cup China 2023.
KI