Iran beat China at the AFC Asian Cup on January 24, with a final score of 3 to 0.
The two teams are among the biggest in Asia, so the match in Dubai was always going to be one of the championship’s most exciting quarterfinal games, especially since the last six times the two teams met, China failed to beat Iran, with two defeats and four draws.
Media speculation and attention had been rife in the run-up to the match, with the two high-profile coaches — Carlos Queiroz for Iran and Marcello Lippi for China — trying to keep their tactical planning and line-ups out of the public eye.
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