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Palestine seal historic Asian Cup last-16 spots with victory as Iran win Group C

Reuters
Palestine celebrate after beating Hong Kong
Palestine celebrate after beating Hong KongReuters
Palestine qualified for the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for the first time on Tuesday with victory in their last group match.

Palestine wrapped up their Group C campaign in style with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong after Oday Dabbagh grabbed a double, securing their spot in the last-16 as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Iran won the group after beating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 to finish with nine points.

Iran - UAE player ratings
Iran - UAE player ratingsFlashscore

Palestine were on course to finish second when Iran led UAE 2-0. But an injury-time goal from UAE's Yahya Al-Ghassani pushed Palestine back to third on goal difference after both teams finished with four points.

Palestine opened the scoring when Dabbagh powered home a header under pressure in the 12th minute while Zeid Qunbar doubled the lead with a header across goal.

Dabbagh then got his second when he was in the right place at the right time to tap in a rebound when Tamer Seyam saw his curling strike come back off the crossbar.

Hong Kong had the opportunity to score a consolation goal when they were awarded a penalty after a VAR check but Everton Camargo's spot kick came off the bar.

Mehdi Taremi scored twice for Iran in their victory, with both goals assisted by Sardar Azmoun either side of halftime.

Al-Ghassani had seen a penalty saved earlier by Iran keeper Alireza Beiranvand but the UAE forward found the bottom corner in the 93rd minute for the crucial goal that moved them back to second to qualify despite the defeat.

Hong Kong - Palestine player ratings
Hong Kong - Palestine player ratingsFlashscore

Check out the game summary with Flashscore.

Asian Cup Group C standings
Asian Cup Group C standingsFlashscore