TEHRAN - Iran defeated Hong Kong 3-0 in Group E of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 qualification on Wednesday.

In the match held in Tashkent's Lokomotiv Stadium, Mohammadamin Hazbavi opened the scoring for the Iranian team just two minutes into the match. 

Mohammad Ghorbani made it 2-0 before halftime and with two minutes remaining, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh scored Iran's third goal.

Iran will play Afghanistan and Uzbekistan on Sept. 9 and 12, respectively.

All the group winners, together with the four best second-placed teams overall, will form the final cast of 16 alongside automatically-qualified hosts Qatar at the sixth edition of the competition, set to be played between April 15 to May 3, 2024.