(Adds later result, details)
TEHRAN, Nov 11 - Paraguay fought back from 2-1
down at halftime to beat fellow World Cup qualifiers Togo 4-2 in
a four-team tournament in the Iranian capital on Friday.
Paraguay will now face Macedonia in Sunday's final after the
Balkan side beat Iran 2-1 in Friday's second match. Iran will
play Togo in the third-place playoff.
Paraguay's early pressure paid dividends in the 12th minute
when Dante Lopez muscled past his marker and bobbled the ball
over diving keeper Tchagnirou Ouronimini.
Togo equalised in the 33rd minute when Cherif-Toure Mamam
thumped a penalty into the top right corner, beating a diving
Miguel Cardenas. Two minutes later, they went ahead when
Soulemane Kobert converted from close-range.
But Paraguay rallied straight after halftime, launching wave
after wave of attacks on the increasingly erratic Togo defenders
who kept slipping on the rain-drenched pitch.
Lopez connected with a corner in the 51st minute, heading
powerfully past Ouronimini.
Six minutes later Carlos Bonet struck from the edge of the
box, getting a deflection off a Togolese defender that looped
into the net. Julio Dos Santos scored Paraguay's fourth in the
65th minute to confirm the South Americans dominance.
SQUANDERED CHANCES
World Cup qualifiers Iran squandered three excellent
second-half chances in their defeat by Macedonia, who will not
be in Germany next year.
Macedonia's Nikola Karsef opened the scoring in the ninth
minute, glancing a header off the underside of the crossbar past
keeper Ebrahim Mirzapour.
Iran responded six minutes later when a strike from skipper
Ali Daei was deflected into the path of Vahid Hashemian who
rifled the ball into the bottom right of the Macedonian net.
Ardijan Nuhiji recaptured the lead for the Balkan side
shortly before halftime, thumping home a cross from the left
with an immaculately timed right-foot volley.
Iran had the best chances in the second half but Sasa Ilic
made two brilliant saves, parrying a close-range shot from
Bayern Munich's Ali Karimi and a scorching long-range blast from
Sattar Zare to preserve the Macedonian lead.
Reza Enayati squandered another chance in the 78th minute,
firing a clear shot wide after failing to maximise on a slick
build-up by Iran.