2010 World Cup Qualifiers (February 2008)

Following the Asian Championship Ghalenoei stepped down as national team coach and Ebrahimzadeh temporarily took charge. The three games in which he guided Iran all ended in scoreless ties, the last of which was Iran’s World Cup qualifier against Syria in Tehran. 

Ebrahimzadeh did not make many changes from the previous roster although he did recall Samereh after a five-year absence and looked to replace Roudbarian by giving three different keepers a start for each game.

Aside from Syria, Iran’s group consisted of Kuwait and the UAE. Following the weak results in the prior games, the IFF elected Daei as national team coach. Daei’s only prior coaching experience was with club team Saipa in which he had acted as a player/coach for the previous two years and in fact had won a championship with in his last season. Daei’s reign would start with a deflating 1-0 loss in a friendly against Bahrain before taking on Kuwait away in qualification.  

By this time Rahmati had established himself as the starting keeper. Iran would have the perfect start against their hosts with Nikbakht chesting Hosseini’s freekick and then converting a bicycle kick in only the 2^nd minute. Three minutes later Hosseini would double Iran’s lead. 

But in the second half two consecutive backwards headers gifted Kuwait with an easy tap-in goal. 

Kuwait would complete their comeback with a headed goal in the 81^st minute for the game to end 2-2. 

Iran would then face UAE in Tehran. Another scoreless tie would mean Iran finished the first legs of the campaign without a win.

Just five days later Iran would face UAE away. With advancement to the next round anything but assured, Shojaei fed Zandi in the 8^th minute for him to chip the keeper to give Iran the lead. This goal combined with some near UAE misses gave Iran its first win of the campaign. 

Iran would next face Syria and after a goalless first half, Rezaei would take advantage of some lax defending and open the scoring. With Syria pushing for an equalizer, Iran put the game away in the 95^th minute with a counterattack that left Khalili with the simplest of shots from close range. 

With two teams advancing from the group, the win mathematically qualified Iran for the next round. In a meaningless final gameat home against Kuwait, Nekounam would score a long range super goal from way outside the box while Rezaei would steal the ball from defenders in the box in the 90^th minute to give Iran a comfortable 2-0 win.

In preparation for the final round of qualification, Iran won another WAFF tournament as it geared up against its qualifying opponents North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the UAE. In the first match Iran faced Saudi Arabia away. 

The hosts took the lead in the first half off of a quick give-and-go and finishing shot into the roof of the net. However, late in the game off of a corner kick Shojaei would head a downward header in Nekounam’s path who in turn would head in the equalizer for the teams to finish in a 1-1 tie and steal an important away point for Iran. 

The next match would be at home against North Korea.

Mahdavikia would head Iran into a 9^th minute lead after picking up a pass from Jabbari from outside the penalty area. Nekonam, would double up in the 65^th minute when he latched onto Shojaei's pass after some poor defending. North Korea would score a consolation goal in the 70^th minute from a header but ultimately Iran would emerge as 2-1 winners and boost their chances of qualifying. 

Next up was the UAE and the hosts would take advantage of a poor giveaway to launch a counterattack and score from close range. A fine save by Rahmati prevented the UAE from extending their lead from a freekick. 

He repeated the feat later from yet another Iranian giveaway and a number of one on one situations. Shojaei would come close to equalizing in the second half with a freekick of his own but it would be Bagheri who would bury his header in the 81^st minute to salvage a tie. In the dying minutes Rezaei was taken down in the box but the ref waived off Iranian claims for a penalty kick. 

Iran would round out the first leg of games by facing South Korea at Azadi. 

Iran started well and should have scored after just two minutes when Shojaei’s shot flew over the crossbar while five minutes later Nekounam's header went wide. In turn Korea had a dangerous free-kick well saved by Rahmati and another chance three minutes before the break when they sent another freekick on target that Rahmati pushed behind for a corner. Iran deservedly took the lead in the 58^th minute when Nekounam struck a powerful freekick from the edge of the area that beat into the net. 

Korea almost levelled the score two minutes later when Lee Keun-ho connected with a cross but his close range header slammed against the crossbar. Khalatbari came close to extending Iran’s lead when his powerful shot from inside the area was pushed away by Lee for a corner. But Korea’s pressure eventually yielded results eight minutes before time when Yeom’s free kick was denied by Rahmati but Park reacted quickly to fire home the equalizer. 

At the halfway point of the final round of qualifiers, Iran sat in third place with six points. Karimi’s absence in these games hinted at a continuation of the rift between him and Daei.

Iran began its second leg of qualification by hosting Saudi Arabia. 

Iran piled on the pressure early on and Mahdavikia looked set to put Iran in front in the 27th minute when he received a perfectly weighted return pass from Nekounam which split the Saudi defense and leaving Mahdavikia one-on-one with the keeper, only for him to push the ball to safety. Minutes later Shojaei’s shot from the edge of the area curled away from the target as the Iran continued to control the game. The Saudies did have a goal disallowed before the break but just 12 minutes after halftime Iran took the lead thanks to a fine strike from Shojaei who thumped his effort beyond Abdullah from the edge of the area after being fed by Khalatbari. However, the Saudies pulled level in the 79^th minute, side footing the ball home after a fine defense-splitting ball by Saleh Bashar. Just as it appeared the honors would be shared, Saudi Arabia won a corner and Al Muwalid met the ball with a glancing header that flew across the face of Rahmati’s goal and into the far corner to hand Iran its first loss of the campaign. 

Following the loss Daei declared that he had no intention of standing down from his post although ultimately he was removed with Afshin Ghotbi taking his place as Iran’s third coach of these qualifiers.

With three games left, Iran still had a chance, albeit slim, to obtain one of the top three spots. For his first qualifier against North Korea, Ghotbi recalled Karimi and installed Hashemian as a starter. 

Iran settled quickly and nearly took the lead after four minutes when Kaebi’s low cross from the right found Teymourian who fired a low shot that was turned onto the right post by the keeper. Three minutes before halftime Karimi played a return ball to Mahdavikia who took the ball to the right by-line before squaring for Hashemian, whose volley flashed just wide of the target. On the defensive end Rahmati kept his side in the game, making a string of fine saves in the second half. Madanchi came on as a 72^nd minute substitute for the injured Khalili and almost made an immediate impact, firing in an effort from 35 meters that forced a flying save out of Ri Myong-guk. In stoppage-time, Iran was caught upfield following a corner but with Rahmati well off his line, the Korean skipper shot too hastily and put his effort well over the unguarded goal. Both teams did their World Cup qualification hopes few favors after playing out a goalless draw. 

Entering the match against the visiting UAE with only one win in six group games, a win seemed like a certainty. 

Iran immediately set to make things right, threatening in the opening minute when Hashemian chested down Karimi's cross in the box but fired his effort straight at goalkeeper. In the 10^th minute Hashemian rose to meet Nouri's cross from the left but sent his header wide. Nekounam saw his header stopped by Naser, while Shojaei's shot deflected off a defender and flew over the crossbar. Khalatbari almost broke the deadlock early in the second half when his header off a Nouri cross was superbly stopped by Naser. But Karimi eased the concerns of the home fans at Azadi Stadium with a classy winning goal in the 53^rd minute after receiving a pass from Teymourian and displaying great control and composure to take the ball into the box, hold off a couple of challenges before slotting the ball home. Borhani failed to get enough punch on an effort which was cleared off the line but in the end Iran took three valuable points away from the game.

In a deciding game, Iran would face the already qualified South Koreans away. 

While the last round of games of a group in FIFA competitions should kick off at the same time, however Iran’s game was hours before the Saudi Arabia-North Korea match, meaning they would know beforehand what result would be sufficient for advancement. A win for Iran would ensure at least a playoff spot, or in the case of a tie in the other game, an outright qualification. Both teams had chances in the first half with Park Chu-young’s long range shot easily held by Rahmati while Nekounam's shot was spilled by the Korean keeper but brought under control before Shojaei’s follow-up. Nekounam also curled a freekick just wide of the post while Shojaei took advantage of some slack play by the Korean backline to bundle his way through but his shot was well saved by Lee Won-jae diving full length to his left. In the second half Iran took the lead when Nosrati swung in a dangerous cross from the left flank that just evaded a stretching Shojaei but Lee Won-jae punched the ball against the midfielder and it bounced into an empty net. Shojaei nearly got a second goal but could not apply a decisive touch after a freekick instigated a scramble in the Korean box just after the hour mark. Korea increased the pressure and was unlucky to see an exquisite freekick come back off the inside of the post in the 65^th minute with Rahmati rooted to his line although he did well to parry Lee Chung-yong's powerful follow-up. 

The hosts' pressure finally paid off in the 81^st minute, as Park Ji-sung exchanged a sharp one two with Kim Jung-woo and buried a fine low left-foot shot inside Rahmati's near post. 

With the 1-1 tie, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia were all level with 11 points although Iran had a better goal difference than Saudi Arabia. With North Korea and Saudi Arabia playing to a dull 0-0 tie later in the day, they took second and third place in the group respectively with 12 points, thus resulting in Iran’s fourth place finish and elimination.