Iran Crowned Champion of West Asian Football Championships - 2004-06-25

The Iranian national football team, with a superior performance, scored four goals against Syria in the final match of the third West Asian Football Championship (Syawan Cup) and became the champion of this tournament. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), after a 1-1 draw in the first half of the match, both teams started the second half without any changes. From the beginning of this half, the Iranian team launched numerous attacks, with Ali Daei missing a one-on-one chance against the Syrian goalkeeper. In the 54th minute, Vahid Nikbakht's header went out next to the Syrian goal, and a minute later, Javad Nekounam's powerful shot also failed to find the net. In the 57th minute, Nikbakht again missed a scoring opportunity. Finally, at the peak of Iran's attacks, in the 60th minute, Ali Daei scored the second goal from a pass by Arash Borhani. Ten minutes later, Borhani scored the third goal for Iran with a header. In the 75th minute, Iran's stormy attacks paid off as Javad Nekounam scored the fourth goal from a play initiated by Ali Karimi and assisted by Daei. Before this goal, Alavi replaced Nikbakht, and then Ali Karimi was substituted for Enayati. Amirabadi also replaced Kabbi in the Iranian team. In the final minutes of the match, Arash Borhani left the game due to injury, and since three legal substitutions had been made, Iran continued to play with ten men until the end. At the end of this match, the number 3 player from Syria was named the best player of the match and received a $500 cash prize from Syawan. It is worth mentioning that in the third-place match, the Jordanian national football team defeated the Iraqi national football team 3-1 and secured third place.