News / Sports

Iran U-17 soccer team lose to hosts in Uzbekistan cup

Thursday, 03 March 2016 8:27 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 03 March 2016 8:25 AM ]

Players are seen during a match between Iranian national under-17 soccer team (players in red jerseys) and Uzbekistan during a four-nation tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 3, 2016.

The Iranian national under-17 soccer team, more commonly known as Nojavanan, has sustained its first loss at the four-nation tournament in Uzbekistan.

On Wednesday, the Iranian side, which had goalkeeper Meraj Esmaeili, defenders Taha Shariati, Saman Ranjbar, Mohammad Reza Davari, Amir Hossein Esmaeilzadeh and Aref Mohammadalipour, captain Mohsen Goudarzi, midfielders Vahid Namdari and Mohammad Ghaderi, as well as forwards Erfan Sadeghi and Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi on its roster, suffered a 1-2 defeat in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent.

The Iranians started the match with vim and vigor, and Namdari opened the score only eleven minutes after the game began.

Neither of the teams could score in the remaining minutes of the first half, and left the field with Iran’s 1-0 lead.

After the break, Uzbekistan seemed to be bent on reclaiming the ground it had lost in the first period, and striker Abdunozir Abdurakhmonov found the back of the visitors’ net two minutes into the second half.

Finally, 15-year-old Shukhrat Nematov made it 2-1 for the hosts in the 61st minute.

Coach Hamid Alidoosti’s young sportsmen had been held to a goalless draw in their opening match against Japan the previous day.

The Iranian national under-17 soccer team is scheduled to play against Turkmenistan in its final encounter of the competition on Friday.

The four-nation tournament in Uzbekistan started in Tashkent on March 1, and will wrap up on March 4.

It serves as a warm-up for the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship, which will be the 17th edition of the biennial international youth soccer championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

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