IRN 2-1 KOR: Rezaei takes aim at World Cup

AFC - After firing Iran to AFC U-16 Championship glory Kaveh Rezaei will look to reproduce his goal scoring exploits on the world stage next year.

Rezaei scored his sixth goal of the tournament on Saturday as Iran downed Korea Republic 2-1 to win a first U-16 crown after securing a trip to next year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria with their 2-0 quarter-final win over Syria.

“When I came to this tournament I set out to be top goal scorer, but it now makes my work harder,” he said. “I need to go back to Iran and work hard to score more at the World Cup.”

After scoring against Bahrain and Uzbekistan as Iran won Group A with a 100% record, Rezaei won a tight last eight meeting with Syria as he struck twice in the final 11 minutes.

Rezaei was on target during the 3-0 semi-final win over United Arab Emirates and after Mohsen Talebat opened the scoring against 10-man Korea in the first half of the final, the striker netted a crucial second as he breezed past a challenge on the edge of the area before calmly netting just after the hour mark.

Korea’s Son Heung-min, Japan’s Takumi Miyayoshi and UAE’s Fahad Salim finished second on the scoring charts with four goals.