Iran held by UAE in AFC U-19 Championship

TEHRAN,Nov.7(MNA)--Iran failed to book a place in the next round of the AFC U-19 Championship Monday night after being held by the UAE. Iran drew 1-1 with the host at the Emirates Club Stadium in Ras Al Khaimah but still remained at the top of the Group A. Alireza Jahan Bakhsh gave a lead to Iranians in the 70th minute for a second successive win which would have seen them through to the quarter-finals but Saeed’s 83rd minute header poured cold water on notion that the Persians advanced to the next round. UAE's second 1-1 draw, following their tie with Kuwait, put them third in the Group A standings with two points, two less than leaders Iran and one less then second-place Japan, who the UAE will face in a must-win match on Wednesday. “I believe that the referee favored the UAE team during the match,” Iran coach Akbar Mohammadi said in a post match news conference. “We have an important match against Kuwait to advance to the knoch out stage,” he added. Japan edged past Kuwait 1-0 in another match of the group. Iran will face Kuwait on Wednesday while the Emirati team has a difficult job against Japan. The competition’s top four teams will qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be held in Turkey.