CAFA Nations Cup 2025: Brave India undone late as Iran clinch 3–0 victory

The Blue Tigers suffered a 0–3 defeat against Iran in their CAFA Nations Cup 2025 group stage encounter in Hisor, Tajikistan, on Monday.

India, donning their orange away kit, started brightly with Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan driving forward down the left in the opening minutes. However, Iran soon took control of possession and forced a series of corners, testing goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and the Indian backline.

Iran’s Omid Noorafkan and Mehran Ahmadi were lively throughout the first half, with Noorafkan’s deliveries from set-pieces creating repeated danger. India managed to carve a rare chance in the 23rd minute when Nikhil Prabhu’s shot went wide following a corner. Despite the mounting Iranian pressure, Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet ensured the game remained goalless at the break.

The second half saw Iran turn their dominance into goals. In the 59th minute, Mohammad Amin Hazbavi’s cross from the right found Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, who controlled well inside the box before firing low past Gurpreet to make it 1–0.

India responded by switching to a more attacking setup, but Iran’s bench strength tilted the game further in their favor. In the 90th minute, substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s shot was saved by Gurpreet, followed by another block from Mehdi Taremi, but Ali Alipour eventually found the net to double the lead. Moments later in stoppage time, Taremi got on the scoresheet himself, latching on to a perfectly threaded pass and calmly finishing to seal a 3–0 win for Iran.

For Iran, the result further underlined their pedigree as one of Asia’s strongest sides, while India will look to regroup and target points in their remaining CAFA Nations Cup fixtures.