2004 Asian Championship (July 2004)

Iran warmed up for the Asian Championship in China with a few World Cup qualifiers, and a clean sweep and championship in the WAFF Games. A number of younger players were introduced to the team such as Kaebi, Zareh, Badavi and Alavi while Golmohammadi and Daei, 33 and 35 respectively, were amongst the veterans. Furthermore, six players from Khuzestan’s Foolad were included in the final roster. Led by Ivankovic, Iran was grouped with Oman, Thailand and the defending champions Japan.

Iran would first face Thailand, a team that as a result of tying Iran and taking two possible points away, played a role in Iran’s failure to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. 

In spite of superiority on the field, it would take 71 minutes for Iran to get on the scoreboard. Enayati who had only been subbed in 10 minutes earlier would open the scoring after receiving the ball following a weaving run to the by-line and pass by Karimi. Nekounam would double Iran’s lead with a header off of a freekick. 

With only a few minutes remaining Karimi would be taken down in the box and Daei would score Iran’s third goal from the spot for a 3-0 win that came much harder than the scoreline suggested.

Iran would next face Oman and display a disastrous performance. A failed offside trap and a close range header would have Iran trailing by two goals by halftime. Iran’s further disheveled display would feature teammates Rezaei and Badavi arguing over man-marking and exchanging blows in a bizarre confrontation where both were lucky not to receive a red card. 

In the 61st minute another Karimi control and shot from inside the box halved the deficit. Nosrati would escape expulsion after an apparent foul on an opponent and following it up by stomping on the his back while the opponent was still on the ground. 

To add insult to injury, four minutes into injury time Nosrati would head in the equalizer from a long range freekick that gifted Iran a point and an ultimate 2-2 tie. Following the match Nosrati would be handed a suspension that would keep him out for the rest of the tournament.

In the final group game Iran just needed a tie to advance while Japan had already clinched a quarterfinal spot due to its prior two wins. 

Knowing that a tie would be desirable for both sides, the teams played to a dull and conservative scoreless tie in a game that only occasionally came to life and ensured first place in the group for Japan and advancement for Iran.

For the third time in a row, Iran would face South Korea in the quarterfinals, a team that two years prior had been a semifinalist at the World Cup. 

En route to this game Iran faced another obstacle when their plane faced inclement weather and was forced to land along the way. The players were confined to the airport for the night and as a result did not get the rest they needed prior to the match. Against the Koreans Iran would take an early lead when Kaebi’s hustle on the endline launched a cross across the goalmouth and Karimi headed it in. Six minutes later Taghipour banged heads with a Korean player and had to be stretchered off the field and taken to hospital in an ambulance. While Iran continued with 10 players Korea would equalize. In the 20th minute Karimi would once again give Iran the lead. While being sandwiched by two Koreans, Karimi would convert Mahdaviakia’s cross with a leaping header for Iran to take a 2-1 lead. Only five minutes later Korea would score from close range to tie the game again. In the second half a Mahdavikia cross intended for Daei was intercepted by a Korean defender but only for him to mistakenly knock it into his own net. Iran’s lead would last until the 68^th minute where a ground shot from outside the box would slip through Mirzapour’s hands and into the net. Karimi would complete his hattrick after side-footing Mahdaviakia’s freekick in at the near post for Iran’s fourth goal. Iran would not relinquish this lead and after a 4-3 victory would advance to the semifinals.

Iran would take on the hosts China in this stage. 

China would take the lead after 18 minutes. A Chinese striker wrong footed Zareh at the edge of the box before cutting the ball into the path of an oncoming teammate whose first-time finish gave Mirzapour no chance. Iran would equalize 20 minutes later when Mahdavikia on the right touched the ball inside the box. His layoff fell invitingly to Alavi who fired home through a crowd of players from the edge of the area. Iran was forced to play all but three minutes of the second half with 10 men after Zareh was sent off for pushing a Chinese player to the ground as the pair squared up to one another off the ball. While Zareh did make contact, however, the embellishment from his Chinese counterpart surely contributed to the referee issuing the red card. 

China sought to make their numerical superiority tell, but they could not find a way past the massed ranks of the Iran defense. Eight minutes from the end, Karimi broke down the middle through three Chinese players and was through on goal with only the keeper to beat but was chopped down from behind. 

In spite of the blatant foul preventing a goal scoring opportunity, and the offending player making no contact with the ball, the referee only issued a yellow card much to the disappointment of the Iranian players who were expecting red. He eventually did reach for his red card but only to show it to Alavi, who by now was watching from the bench and had presumably said something to the fourth official. Regulation would end 1-1 and in extra time China would have the bulk of opportunities with Mirzapour and his defenders saving Iran on numerous occasions and Iran’s crossbar also getting rattled with a ferocious 25-yard drive. 

The game would eventually go to penalty kicks. Iran would take the lead after Daei, Mahdavikia and Nekounam converted their shots but with Mobali hitting the crossbar and Golmohammadi’s Panenka being saved, Iran was confined to a semifinal defeat and a third place match against Bahrain.

Iran faced Bahrain without the suspended Nosrati, Zareh and Alavi,  and was dealt yet another suspension blow when the AFC's Disciplinary Committee, handed Taghipour a six-month ban for incidents in the AFC Champions League in May. Iran would score first. A back pass found its way to Daei but before he could get a shot off, Nekounam burst through, striking the ball almost off of Daei’s foot and past the Bahraini keeper. 

Bahrain would equalize from a freekick early in the second half. The tie would last just four minutes as Karimi got on the end of a delightfully weighted ball from Mahdavikia to chip the ball over the keeper and give Iran a 2-1 lead with his fifth goal of the tournament. Golmohammadi looked to have extended Iran's advantage when he bundled the ball in from close range after the keeper spilled a firm shot from Borhani, however, the goal was called back for offside. Bahrain levelled in the 57^th minute when Mirzapour palmed a header onto the crossbar and a Bahraini was quick to react and score from close range. Iran was reduced to 10 men with 28 minutes left to play when Borhani received his marching orders for a wild lunge. Despite their numerical disadvantage, Iran retook the lead through an 80^th minute Daei penalty, awarded as Karimi was upended in the box after waltzing past two Bahraini defenders. 

With the final whistle approaching, Daei secured the win when he drilled home a superb cut-back from Mahdavikia. Deep into injury time, Talal Yusuf's cynical hack on Daei enraged Mahdavikia who made his feelings on the challenge clear to the Bahrain midfielder. The confrontation was the catalyst for some ugly scenes as players from both sides came to blows. 

When the dust had settled, red cards were flashed to both Yusuf and Mahdavikia, who became the fourth Iranian to have been sent off at the Asian Cup 2004. With a 4-2 win at the final whistle Iran had taken third place in the tournament while Karimi ended up as the joint top scorer.

Iran roster: Mirzapour, Roudbarian, Rahmati, Amirabadi, Golmohammadi, Rezaei, Kaebi, Taghipour, Badavi, Kameli Mofrad, Nosrati, Zareh, Mahdavikia, Nekounam, Kavianpour, Karimi, Mobali, Alavi, Majidi, Borhani, Daei, Enayati. Coach: Ivankovic