TEHRAN – Iran earned a 4-0 win over Hong Kong in their AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers Group I match on Wednesday.

In the match held at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, Mehdi Jafari opened the scoring for Iran in the 70th minute and Amirmohammad Razzaghinia made it 2-0 three minutes later.

With three minutes remaining, Kasra Taheri scored Iran’s third goal and he also was on target in the added time.

Iran will meet Guam and the UAE on Sept. 6 and 9, respectively.

The 44 teams were divided into eleven groups of four teams. In each group, teams played each other once at a centralized venue.

The eleven group winners and the four best runners-up will qualify for the final tournament in Saudi Arabia.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein