World Cup Qualifiers: Iran edges closer to Qatar against Syria via Jordan

Iran will be on the road again in Amman as they begin the second phase of their World Cup qualifiers. Team Melli faces Syria on Tuesday fresh off a recent impressive road trip.

Dragan Skocic's men retained their top spot after beating Lebanon 2-1 in Sidon on Saturday.  Having fallen behind in the 37th minute through Soony Saad's effort, the visitors produced two moments of magic to snatch three points. The whole game was featured on top online casinos who are also into sports betting.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Zenit Saint Petersburg's Sardar Azmoun levelled the game. Far from satisfied, Iran pushed on and four minutes later they netted a winner. Shabab Al Ahli's Ahmad Nourollahi was in the right place at the right time, slamming home a low shot from the edge of the box after several blocked efforts.

Skocic had courted controversy by dropping FC Porto forward Mehdi Taremi from his squad for both games. He, however, replied his critics with another victory, extending his unbeaten start as coach to 11 matches. In five qualifying matches, Team Melli won four and drew one against South Korea. Three more victories will see them through to Qatar.

It now appears to be a two-horse race between Iran and Korea. Both teams are almost certain to qualify automatically which pleased machines a sous. Team Melli with 13 points has two more than Korea. The chasing pack of Lebanon (five), Iraq (four), United Arab Emirates (three) and Syria (two) toil over one play-off slot.

Former international,  Siruos Dinmohammadi, said Iran deserved maximum points and believes their Croatian manager is doing excellently well.

"Iran deserved to win this game without any doubt. Moreover, our national team deserve to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup because we are the best team in Group A, better than South Korea and all the other teams in the group,” he said.

“Skocic made calculated decisions in terms of the substituting. We kept pressure until the last seconds of the game and finally reached our desired result".

An Alireza Jahanbakhsh strike was the decider the last time Iran clashed with Syria. Team Melli will be motivated to finish the series in Amman, Syria's adopted home. 

A bigger incentive, however, is Team Melli's unbeaten streak against their opponents. They are undefeated in over 25 matches. In fact, Syria has only won once - dating back to 1973.