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Iran Hoping for Smooth Path to Third-Straight World Cup Finals

Team Melli

Iran begin the third round of their World Cup qualification campaign on September 1 with a home clash against Syria. Also in Group A are Iraq, South Korea, Lebanon and the UAE, while Group B features Australia, China, Japan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

Round 3 represents the final stage of qualifying with the first two teams in each group heading to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The third-placed teams will go head-to-head with a place in an intercontinental play-off match against a team from another confederation at stake.

Favourable Draw

Iran look to have been drawn in a favourable group with South Korea arguably the strongest of the other four teams. However, there is plenty of work still to be done to book their place in football’s showpiece event where Brazil and France are the early favourites in the latest football odds.

Weighing up the Opponents

Iran have never lost to the UAE having played them 14 times since 1984, although they have only scored more than one goal in one of the last six encounters. The two sides last met in the AFC Asian Cup in 2015 when Reza Ghoochannejhad scored the only goal of the game for Team Melli.

Iraq have proved to be trickier opponents, having won three of the last five meetings against Iran including a 2-1 victory in a World Cup qualifier back in November 2019. Iran came out on top in their most recent meeting, winning 1-0 in the final game of World Cup qualifying Round 2. Their overall record against the Lions of Mesopotamia stands at W13 D6 L6.

Despite their strong reputation, Korea Republic have not beaten Iran in any of their last 10 meetings stretching back to 2007. Half of those matches ended in draws, including the last two. They are currently ranked 36 in the world, 10 places below Iran.

Team Melli will meet Lebanon for the first time since their 4-1 triumph in the 2013 AFC Asian Cup. They also put four past them, without reply, in a World Cup qualifying game earlier the same year. Their one and only defeat to Lebanon (1-0) came in the same World Cup qualifying campaign back in 2012.

A Third-Straight World Cup within their Grasp

With Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia in the other group, Iran certainly appear to have a favourable qualifying path. They're looking to reach their third-consecutive finals and their fifth overall. Their first appearance came at the 1998 World Cup in France where they famously beat the USA in the "mother of all games". However, they have never progressed beyond the group stage and that will be their target this time around.

Head coach Dragan Skočić has a 100% record from seven games in charge since taking the reins in 2020, but the performances have not impressed everyone. Despite having a contract until 2023, there is no guarantee that the federation will keep him beyond this final qualification round. Much will depend on whether he can deliver the results with a style of football that pleases his employers in the coming months.

In the meantime, fans of the Persian Leopards can look forward to some nail-biting qualifying games starting with a home clash against Syria in the Venue Azadi Stadium in Tehran next month.