PLDC – Iran scored twice late in the second half to secure a hard-fought 2–0 victory over 10-man Palestine at the Basra four-nation tournament on Saturday.
Palestine were reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute when Ameed Sawafta received his second yellow card.
Substitute Sardar Azmoun broke the deadlock in the 77th minute at Basra International Stadium, before fellow substitute Saleh Hardani sealed the win six minutes from time.
Team Melli will face hosts Iraq on Tuesday, while Palestine take on Lebanon.
The tournament gives the participating teams an opportunity to assess their squads and test different combinations ahead of competitive fixtures.
Iran lineup
Mohammad Khalifeh (Habib Farabbasi, 77), Jafar Salmani (Hossein Goudarzi, 46), Ali Nemati (Saman Fallah, 90+1), Mohammad Ghorbani (Amir Mohammad Razaghinia, 46), Amin Hazbavi (Aref Aghasi, 90+1), Aria Yousefi (Saleh Hardani, 46), Saeid Ezatolahi (Omid Noorafkan, 69), Mohammad Javad Hosseinnezhad (Mohammad Mehdi Mohebi, 46), Mehdi Mohebi (Afshin Sadeghi, 77), Dennis Dargahi (Sardar Azmoun, 46) and Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Esmaeil Gholizadeh, 69).
Head coach — Amir Ghalenoei
