Iran’s Zahra Ghanbari, now known for her early goals, now opened the scoring. After scoring within the first 14 minutes against Singapore, and eight against Vietnam, Ghanbari this time took less than three minutes to give her side the lead, though goalkeeper Noor Jumaa might have done better with her shot from distance.
Afterwards, the match was comparable to a procession as Iran repeatedly bypassed Syria’s high defensive line to easily find the net by Ghanbari, Shaghayegh Rouzbahan and Sara Zhorabinia and gained a 6-0 half-time lead.
Iran maintained its dominance in the second half as Zohrabinia added to her tally shortly after the break before Fatemeh Ghasemi scored a free kick and Ghanbari completed her hat-trick to make it nine.
Zohrabinia took her personal tally to five, while Ghanbari scored her fourth and Sara Ghomi completed Iran’s dozen as they handed Syria a third consecutive double-figure loss.
Syria has lost all four of their matches in Hanoi though their presence represents a vital return to international football after six years in the wilderness.
The victory marked Iran’s second win of the tournament though Maryam Azmoun’s girls were eliminated after losses to Myanmar and Vietnam.
Given that the match was held in warm weather conditions of Vietnam’s Hanoi and according to FIFA regulations on protecting health and performance of players, the referee paused the game in 30th and 70th minutes for the two teams to drink water and not suffer from dehydration.
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