2018 World Cup Qualifiers/2019 Asian Championship Qualifiers (June 2015)

A few months after the Asian Championship, Iran’s road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia began. Due to the expansion of the Asian Championship to 24 teams starting in the next edition, the AFC Executive Committee approved a proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup. Therefore, the first two rounds of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers also acted as qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Following the preliminary round, for which Iran was exempt for, a total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–34 in the AFC entrant list and six first round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners in the this round and the four best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualifying for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals. Iran was grouped with Guam, India, Oman and Turkmenistan.

 

With few roster changes since the Asian Championship and Queiroz still at the helm, Iran faced Turkmenistan away. Azmoun would score the opener just four minutes into the match by evading three players and firing in at the near post, but the hosts leveled the scoring in the dying minutes of the first half thanks to a deep cross behind the Iranian defense line and an unmarked Mingazov tapping it in from close range for the match to end 1-1. 

 

Iran then faced lowly Guam at Azadi who had lost to Iran 19-0 in their last encounter. 

 

Iran controlled the action early on, taking risks and launching low-percentage shots as it felt out Guam’s defense. Following a keeper takedown of Azmoun, Dejagah’s penalty kick in the 10^th minute put Iran ahead, robbing Guam of a chance to establish any footing.  

 

Thirty minutes into the first half Taremi got the scoring binge started, finishing a one-touch shot from a one-touch pass from Azmoun while Azmoun added two headers for goals off of Dejagah and Amiri crosses before halftime. Guam made a few adjustments at the break to slow Iran down, but to no avail. Taremi added another headed goal midway through the second half and substitute Torabi closed the scoring with a shot in the 89^th minute for a convincing 6-0 win. 

 

Iran then traveled to India in what turned out to be a gross mismatch between two teams with the visitors peppering India’s goal with shots from every conceivable angle and Haghighi on the other end hardly being tested. India repeatedly thwarted the Iranian forays for close to half-hour until Azmoun headed the ball home off a brilliant, long freekick by Teymourian. Two quick second half goals sealed the match. Taremi headed back an outgoing ball to Teymourian to blast home and four minutes later Taremi was let free to score off a pass from Azmoun for a 3-0 win. In an inconsequential move after the match, as a result of India fielding an ineligible player, FIFA awarded Iran a 3–0 win. 

 

Iran then traveled to Oman. 

The hosts got off to a strong start successfully cutting into Iran’s penalty area one minute into the match to fire a low shot that Haghighi saved. Oman had another good chance later in the half unleashing a shot that rolled just past Iran’s post. Seven minutes into the second half Oman took the lead with a finish from close range. But Hosseini netted the equalizer in the 69^th minute after a cleverly played freekick. With the game ending 1-1, Iran stood at the top of the group at the halfway point with eight points.

The return matches resumed with a game at home to Turkmenistan. 

 

Iran took just six minutes to take the lead with Pouraliganji heading in a Dejagah corner kick. 

Turkmenistan equalized with a corner of their own in the 62^nd minute.

Only two minutes later Iran retook the lead. Surrounded by six players, Ezzatollahi, somehow managed to turn and put a shot through traffic into the net. 

Iran’s slender advantage remained until the 83^rd minute when Dejagah converted a late penalty after Ghoochannejad was taken down in the box. 

With the 3-1 win Iran maintained its position at the top of the table. 

With goals from Taremi (2), Kamyabnia, Rezaian, Shojaei and Ansarifard Iran repeated their 6-0 win against Guam.  

In this match Iran missed Haghighi due to visa issues and Beiranvand took his place although he was given a straight red card in the 72^nd minute for a foul on Guam midfielder Dylan Naputi, less than a minute after Iran had used up all of their substitutions, forcing defender Pourghaz to take on goalkeeper duties. 

Azadi Stadium hosted the visiting Indian national team next. 

 

The Indian keeper was forced to rush off his line in order to deny Azmoun in the 8^th minute. Five minutes later Iran avoided disaster when an Indian attempt sailed over the bar with Mazaheri off his line. Iran threatened again in the 17^th minute while two minutes later Iran had a claim to a penalty kick. Iran’s relentless pressure finally took its toll when a reckless high-boot challenge on Jahanbakhsh saw the referee point to the spot. Hajsafi sent Gurpreet the wrong way to open the scoring. 

Iran nearly doubled its lead early in the second half as Ezzatollahi headed just wide from a corner kick. Iran doubled its lead when a Hajsafi corner found Azmoun, who received the ball on his stomach before finding the target from close range. 

India conceded another penalty when Narayan Das’s attempt at a headed clearance saw the ball strike his hand. Hajsafi scored his second goal from the spot to put the issue beyond the visitor’s reach. Iran’s fourth goal was thanks to another piece of poor work by the Indian defenders. Jahanbakhsh was allowed plenty of space and time as he cut in from the right flank to score Iran’s final goal with a well-placed finish for a comfortable 4-0 win. 

With Oman needing a win by eight goals or more against Iran in their final game, Iran’s advancement to the next round was all but settled.  

Two first half corner kicks and subsequent headers by Azmoun gave Iran a 2-0 win. 

In addition Iran topped the table and as such not only advanced to the next round of qualification but also qualified for the 2019 Asian Championship.

Iran began the final round of qualification with a home game against Qatar. 

As hosts of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar was determined to avoid making history as the first host to not have ever qualified on merit and as such displayed a frustrating defensive performance. Even so they went close to scoring in the 11^th minute when Sebastián Soria unleashed a shot that was saved by Beiranvand, who by now had established himself as Iran’s starting keeper. Iran retaliated with a Jahanbakhsh dribble that penetrated the defense and ended with a shot which flew over the bar. In the second half Jahanbakhsh threatened again off of a corner kick but the ball went out of bounds. Late in the game Ansarifard somehow missed an open header from inside the six-yard box. While it seemed that the Qataris had succeeded in stealing a point, Ansarifard pounced on a miskick by the keeper in the 94^th minute and slid the ball to Ghoochannejad who opened the scoring. 

Following Iran’s celebrations in front of the Qatari bench, a mass brawl ensued between both sets of players, with Qatar’s head coach José Daniel Carreño storming the field and hollering at Iranian players and sports officials. 

To add insult to injury, Jahanbakhsh scored in the 101^st minute with a shot from outside the box for a 2-0 final score. 

Iran next traveled to China. 

In a game that Beiranvand was hardly tested, Iran threatened with an Azmoun header, a subsequent Shojaei header and a Torabi strike but in the end the teams settled for a scoreless draw. 

Iran next visited an Uzbek team that had two wins under its belt. 

Ghoochannejad came close after just 10 minutes but his volley sailed high and wide. Iran did go in front in the 27^th minute when Hosseini connected with a header from Shojaei’s freekick from the right that left goalkeeper Aleksandr Lobanov helpless. Iran could have ended the match even more comfortably as Azmoun, a second half replacement for Ghoochannejad, played in Vahid Amiri but Lobanov was quick off his line to deny him. Iran finished as 1-0 winners to top the group. 

Iran next faced its old nemesis South Korea at Azadi. 

Iran were lively from the outset and following pressure from Jahanbakhsh, Pouraliganji swept the ball home from eight yards out only for it to be ruled offside. Undeterred, the hosts pushed on and Jahanbakhsh cut in from the right and lashed a left-foot shot over the crossbar following a swift counter. Jahanbakhsh then wasted a chance when he volleyed Hajsafi's freekick over the bar from just outside the six-yard box. The pressure finally yielded results in the 25^th minute when Rezaeian found space down the right and played a low pass into the area where Azmoun brilliantly guided his first-time shot into the bottom left-hand corner. 

South Korea struggled to threaten in their attempt to respond and Iran upped the ante slightly in the early stages of second half as they sought to double the lead with Jahanbakhsh firing over from the edge of the area while Ezzatollahi headed over unmarked from a long throw-in. Demonstrating complete dominance Iran emerged 1-0 winners over their Korean rivals. 

Iran then settled for a 0-0 draw against Syria on a swampy Malaysian pitch that prompted questions over why the match was allowed to proceed. 

The subpar pitch outside Kuala Lumpur soaked up a heavy pregame tropical downpour like a sponge, swallowing passes and making players look as if they were moving at half-speed. Iran dominated play and Jahanbakhsh nearly put Iran ahead when he almost beat the Syrian keeper after firing a swerving and swirling shot from distance that had the keeper backpedalling to push the ball over the bar. Late in the game Jahanbakhsh missed his header from a dangerous cross from Mohammadi right in front of goal and with the keeper beaten to sum up the night for Iran. At the halfway stage, Iran topped the table with 11 points and five clean sheets.

Iran began its return legs away to Qatar. 

The first half ended scoreless although Iran carved out the better of the early opportunities. However, Iran took the lead in the 52^nd minute when Ansarifard's through-ball found Taremi in space and he made no mistake in finding the net. 

Azmoun and Hajsafi had chances to double Iran’s lead although ultimately the game ended 1-0. 

With supporters clambered up to sit on the perimeter wall and on floodlight towers, an estimated 110,000 fans crammed into Azadi Stadium to catch a glimpse of the Iran’s match against China. 

Iran did not waste much time going forward as Ghoochannejad shot powerfully in the 6^th minute, forcing the Chinese keeper Zeng Cheng to parry over the bar for a corner. Later Jahanbakhsh fired a shot that just shaved the bar while Taremi’s shot was saved by the outstretched legs of Zeng Cheng. Mohammadi had a one on one with the keeper, however, his shot was parried away for a corner. A precise pass by Ghafoori to Shojaei ended in a shot that was once again saved by the keeper. The ensuing corner saw Taremi’s scissor kick marginally missing the target. 

After a goalless first half, Taremi scored the only goal of the match for Iran less than a minute into the second half when after a poor Chinese clearance he found the ball at his feet inside the six yards box. His halfhearted shot beat the wrong-footed Zeng Cheng to give Iran another 1-0 victory. 

Iran next welcomed Uzbekistan in a game that could clinch qualification. 

Iran started the game in a controlled fashion and in the 23^rd minute Jahanbakhsh’s pass split the Uzbekistan defense and left Azmoun one-on-one with the keeper and he calmly nutmegged him to give Iran the lead. 

Shojaei squandered the chance to double Iran's lead when Taremi was brought down in the box, only for the veteran midfielder to sky his penalty over the bar. With two minutes remaining Taremi powered into the area before curling a fine finish beyond Lobanov and into the far corner that sent the Azadi Stadium into wild celebrations. 

With the 2-0 win Iran booked its ticket to Russia and its fourth World Cup with two games to spare, becoming the second nation to qualify after the host country. 

Iran next traveled to South Korea in an inconsequential match for them but vital for the Koreans to keep their hopes alive. 

With a new coach at the helm the Koreans looked to get in behind Iran's notoriously stern defense as Son Heung-min saw a freekick from the edge of the box deflected wide. Korea pushed for a winner and Kwon Chang-hoon rifled a 20-yard freekick narrowly over after Cheshmi tripped Jang Hyun-soo. Queiroz's side tightened up and soaked up the pressure until the final whistle as Iran escaped Seoul with a goalless draw although the one casualty of the match was Ezzatollahi who upon receiving his marching orders (after stomping on an opponent’s head) would not only be unavailable for the last qualifier but would also miss Iran’s first match in the World Cup.

In another meaningless game Iran faced Syria at home. 

Syria took the lead after only 13 minutes when Beiranvand failed to hold on to a freekick and the rebound was slotted home, beating Iran’s defense for the first time in the last round of qualification. However, Iran equalized at the end of the first half when Taremi headed Dejagah’s corner under the crossbar and Azmoun chested it in. 

Iran scored a second at the 64^th minute after Taremi flicked on Hajsafi’s long throw-in and Azmoun side-footed it in for the lead. 

But Omar Al Somah scored a 93^rd minute equalizer, nutmegging Beiranvand after a quick counterattack, resulting in a disappointing 2-2 score. 

With a spot in Russia already achieved, at the end of the qualification process Iran topped the group with 22 points, 7 points ahead of second placed South Korea.