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An in depth look at Iran's World Cup Group
The Qatar World Cup is just 7 months away
After all the hype, controversy, and actual games being played to decide which teams qualify for the Qatar World Cup, we are now finally only a few months away from the tournament starting. There is still the small matter of a couple of play-offs to be completed, but the teams who have qualified know mostly who they will be up against in their groups. So what are Iran’s prospects of getting out of the group stages for the first time in their history?
Group B
In a draw that produced no traditional “group of death”, Dragan Skočić will be reasonably happy with how the balls came out for his team. It certainly could have been tougher, but the fact it remains undecided as to who the third team will be is not ideal for planning and preparation reasons. There is a good chance still that whoever does make up the fourth slot will be a better team than their pool 4 position suggests. Along with Iran, Group B will consist of England, the United States and either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine.
England
The standout favourites of the group, England will have high hopes of going one better than they did when reaching the final of Euro 2020. In the past it was thought that the number of EPL players in the squad contributed to the national side's downfall, as it's a league where fixture congestion is a very real issue, translating to many players carrying injuries and managing exhaustion as they shift their focus to international competition. If the World Cup were to be played this summer for example, there would be a number of players, Chelsea's Ben Chilwell for one, who would miss the tournament through injury. As a result of this it is hoped, in England at least, that the timing of this World Cup will play into their hands by taking place later in the year.
The game, which is the opening match of the group, will be the first between the two nations. It will also be one that prominent Iranian players will relish by giving them an opportunity to go up against some of the best players in the world. Skočić’s men will have their work cut out, and irrespective of how they fare, they will still have two further games to look to in order to amass the requisite points to get out of the group stage.
The world cup will bring the entire nation together
The United States
This is the second time these nations have met in the World Cup, the other game being that memorable match in France ’98. That 2-1 victory, one of the proudest moments in Iranian football history is one that they will be looking to repeat in Qatar. Ranked 15th in the world, compared to Iran’s 21st position, the US team does possess some noteworthy talent in Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna. That said, the team have not been playing well of late, did not impress in qualifying, and are a far cry from the side that got to the quarter finals in 2002.
Scotland, Wales or Ukraine
All three of these sides, ranked 39th, 18th and 27th respectively can cause Iran problems, but they can all be resolutely defeated. What is more, in order to get out of the group, they will need to take all three points from this match. Wales are the toughest on paper, and include Gareth Bale in their roster. Scotland have improved under Steve Clarke, but have a woeful World Cup record to date. If Ukraine qualify they will have most neutrals rooting for them to do well at the tournament, and though they have few stars or household names, they are a well drilled team capable of causing an upset.
Iran have never faced Wales, though they do have history with both of the other nations. In 2002 Iran won by the only goal against Ukraine in a friendly, while they shared two goals with Scotland in the group stages of the 1978 world cup in Argentina.
Iran's World Cup Schedule
21 Nov 2022 13:00 (local time) Khalifa International Stadium: England v IR Iran
25 Nov 2022 10:00 (local time) Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium: Ukraine/Wales/Scotland v IR Iran
29 Nov 2022 19:00 (local time) Al Thumama Stadium: IR Iran v USA