CHENGDU, China, May 19 -- Sharifi's double helped Iran U-19 national football team win over China U-19 2-1 in the 2024 Panda Cup international youth football tournament here on Friday.

The Iranian team gained an upper hand from the very beginning of the match and nearly opened scoring at the 18th minute when Shariati Khame unleashed a strike outside the penalty area but blocked by goalkeeper Qi Yuxi.

After a goalless first half, Iran finally opened the scoring at the 52nd minute through forward Sharifi's long range shot. Zhou Junchen equalized for the host team at the 65th minute.

Sharifi then scored the winner through a penalty in the 75th minute. The host team fought hard in the last 20 minutes of the game and created some scoring chances but failed to convert any of them.

Earlier in the day, Hungary beat Slovakia 3-0. Enditem