2022 World Cup Qualifiers/2023 Asian Championship Qualifiers (September 2019)

Following Queiroz’s departure Iran began the search for a new coach. Big names including Zinedine Zidane, Jose Mourinho, Laurent Blanc, Dick Advocaat, Bert van Marwijk, Juergen Klinsmann and Zlatko Dalic were mentioned as a replacement while speculation regarding Herve Renard seemed to have the most legitimacy given his presence at the Asian Championship. In the end Iran opted for Marc Wilmots who had led his homeland – Belgium - to the World Cup in 2014 and whose last job was being in charge of Ivory Coast. Wilmots began preparations for the World Cup qualifiers against familiar foes, crushing Syria 5-0 and tying South Korea away 1-1. There were a few exclusions due to club commitments while teenaged Sayyadmanesh made his debut at forward and promptly scored against the Syrians.

 

Iran began its qualification campaign in September in a group featuring Bahrain, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Iraq with the first challenge being an away game to Hong Kong. 

 

Against an inferior opponent Azmoun almost had his side ahead with 10 minutes on the clock, only to be denied by Yapp Hung Fai, who kept out his header from Jahanbakhsh’s curling ball forward. Azmoun threatened again and opened the scoring for Iran in the 23^rd minute. Yapp’s clearance of Rezaeian’s cross fell at the feet of Hajsafi, whose scuffed shot was flicked in the air by Ansarifard to leave Azmoun to sweep his volley into the bottom corner. 

 

Eight minutes before the break Iran could have doubled their lead, but Ansarifard’s spectacular overhead kick crashed against the crossbar. Nine minutes into the second half Jahanbakhsh move at the edge of the area bought him space behind the Hong Kong defense and his cut back allowed Ansarifard to double Iran’s lead with a simple finish for a 2-0 win. 

 

Back in Tehran Iran turned on the style as they scored an emphatic 14-0 win over Cambodia. 

Ansarifard scored four and Azmoun a hattrick on a historic day for Iranian soccer which for the first time in decades included female fans at the iconic Azadi Stadium. Taremi and debutant Mohebbi registered braces while Noorollahi, Kanaanizadegan and Mehrdad Mohammadi scored one each. 

Cambodia’s best chance came at the beginning of the second half when they were awarded a penalty kick although Beiranvand did well to stop the shot as Iran went on to secure their second consecutive win. 

Iran then traveled to Bahrain where the host nation loudly booed Iran’s national anthem before kickoff. 

 

In a cagey opening period Iran threatened first as Hajsafi charged into the Bahraini penalty box, getting on the end of a Taremi lobbed pass and firing low and wide. Abdullah Yusuf Helal had a golden chance to put Bahrain into the lead nine minutes before the break after he outmuscled Iran’s defense and guided his header goalward but Beiranvand made the necessary save. Hajsafi threatened again with a freekick that was saved and the teams went to the dressing room level at halftime. In the second half Taremi’s header from Rezaeian’s cross looked dangerous but harmlessly sailed over. In the 65^th minute Hosseini mistimed his challenge, bringing Humaidan down inside the box, and the referee instantly pointed to the spot. Al Hardan stepped up confidently and slotted home. In the dying moments of the match Noorollahi’s cross bounced off the crossbar and later Iran had claims to a penalty of their own but the ref waived it off to hand Iran its first qualification campaign defeat. 

Iran then faced Iraq away as they trailed their hosts by a point. 

 

Iraq got off to a flying start as Bashar Resan supplied a pinpoint cross from the right into the path of Ali Adnan who swept it first time at the far post. His shot was parried by Beiranvand, but only as far as Mohanad Ali who rifled the ball into the roof of the net to put Iraq in the lead after just 11 minutes. 

Iran tied things up in the 25^th minute when Mohebbi advanced down the right to the byline and pulled back for Noorollahi at the edge of the penalty box, for him to collect the ball and fire into the bottom corner to make it 1-1. 

A tight second half changed drastically as Iran were reduced to 10 men as Shojaei was sent off for a second booking in the 81st minute after a high foot. 

That was followed by a dramatic finish as substitute Abbas rose highest to head home Amjed Attwan’s corner in spite of Beiranvand getting a piece of the ball in the second minute of added time to hand Iran its second consecutive defeat.

Following the loss Iran found itself in a tight situation. Not only did advancing to the next round of World Cup qualification seem in jeopardy (which was only reserved for group leaders and the best four runners up) but also it seemed likely that Iran might have to go through extra rounds of qualification for the 2023 Asian Championship. Many pointed fingers at Wilmots and his ineffective tactics and lax attitude, with players alleging that following the loss he was joking around and laughing in the airport. Wilmots, who then traveled back to Belgium following the Iraq loss, would later comment that the IFF had created serious contractual violations and that he was facing an intolerable situation. With negotiations between the two parties facing a deadlock, termination of his contract took center stage. The IFF parted company with Wilmots in December and began looking for a new coach. The names of prior national team coaches Daei, Ghalenoei and Ivankovic were thrown around but ultimately Sanat Naft coach Dragan Skocic would take the reins. Although initially Iran was scheduled to play its second leg fixtures starting in March, however, due to the spread of the coronavirus and shut down of most soccer games worldwide, it would be more than a year before Skocic’s team would take the field for a competitive match. The continuation of the qualifiers would resume in the summer of 2021. 

 

With the coronavirus still highly affecting most countries, the AFC decided that the remaining group games would all take place in Bahrain, handing the host country a huge advantage and in essence gifting them with two home matches against Iran. Iran filed a complaint against AFC’s decision to award the hosting rights to Bahrain, alleging that Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC President who is also a Bahraini, used his president’s right in selecting his home country for the qualifiers in spite of Iran having three more home games left.  Ultimately the complaint was dismissed.

 

Iran faced Hong Kong in its first of rescheduled games. 

 

In a not so difficult game, Iran was utterly dominant and broke the deadlock in the 23^rd minute when Gholizadeh moved into the box to beat the keeper from an extremely tight angle. Iran doubled the lead in the 61^st minute when Amiri's attempt took a deflection and looped over the keeper before Torabi brought the ball down the flank and fed Ansarifard for an easy tap-in made it 3-0 in the 84^th minute. Hong Kong pulled one goal back in directly from the kickoff when a headed attempt rattled the woodwork and the rebound was converted but it was too little too late and Iran emerged as 3-1 winners. 

An extremely tense encounter with hosts Bahrain (which Iran had never defeated away) was next in which defeat would probably signal elimination. 

 

Bahrain coming off an 8-0 win against Cambodia, threatened Iran’s goal by forcing Beiranvand into a point blank save while Iran was content with long range shots. 

Early in the second half Taremi supplied Azmoun with a perfectly timed pass, enabling him to break the deadlock and slide the ball past the keeper. 

With Bahrain looking for an equalizer, Iran counterattacked with Taremi once again setting up Azmoun who outran his defender before slotting home. Taremi would get a goal of his own in the 79^th minute after converting Nourollahi’s pass. 

Iran failed to convert two more clear chances in the remaining time but with the 3-0 win leapfrogged over Bahrain in the standings and took a firm step towards advancement. 

Iran rested a number of players against Cambodia and yet still managed to annihilate them by once again defeating them in double digits. 

 

Goals from Jahanbakhsh (penalty), Khalilzadeh, Taremi, Mohammadi, Pouraliganji, Ansarifard (penalty), Rezaei (twice) and Ghaedi combined with a Cambodian own goal to register a 10-0 victory. 

Going into the final against Iraq, Iran trailed their opponents by two points. 

 

Given the tables in other groups a loss or even a tie could prove insufficient for advancement. The match began at a frantic pace, with both sides playing aggressively leading to players on both sides picking up yellow cards in the first 15 minutes. Iran was rewarded in the 35^th minute with Hajsafi beating the offside trap on the left wing before sending the ball to a surging Azmoun to tap home the opening goal from close range. 

Iraq had a chance to draw equal two minutes into the second half when they unleashed a strike from inside the box that forced Beiranvand into making a save. Iran held possession well for the remainder of the game, creating chances, with the most dangerous one being Rezaei dribbling down the left flank towards the goalpost, and with the keeper planted at the near post, feeding Ghaedi who missed an open net from the edge of the six-yard box. The ultimate 1-0 win completed a remarkable turnaround for Iran, who won all four of their matches following the resumption of the Asian Qualifiers and finished top of their table, qualifying them for the 2023 Asian Championship and the next round of Asia’s World Cup qualifiers.

Following this round there was much talk regarding the future of Skocic. On one hand many believed that with the four consecutive wins and successful campaign he had earned the right to stay especially in light of how little time there was until the next round of qualifiers. Others claimed that he was not experienced enough with the bulk of his coaching career taking place at the Middle East club scene. Rumors regarding the return of Carlos Queiroz and Branko Ivankovic were thrown around but ultimately Skocic held his position for the final round of qualifers.

In the next round of qualifiers Iran was grouped with Iraq, Lebanon, South Korea, Syria and the UAE with the top two finishers guaranteed a place in the finals. In the opening game against Syria, Iran fielded a familiar lineup with Sarlak and Salmani the only newcomers forcing themselves in as starters. 

Syria, who months earlier had succumbed to a 3-0 defeat against Iran in a friendly, were optimistic with their coach declaring that he didn’t see much difference between the teams. An empty Azadi Stadium played host albeit without coach Skocic who was still recovering from Covid, and Azmoun due to an accumulation of yellow cards in the previous round. Iran pressed early and Khalilzadeh’s header from a Ghoddoos corner kick went wide and was followed by further chances wasted by Taremi and Jahanbakhsh. Syria almost took the lead when Omar Khirbin freed himself from Khalilzadeh in the box but sent his shot wide while later Beiranvand had to tip over a well-placed freekick. Desperate for a result Iran sent in Ezzatollahi, Mohammadi and Hardani who made an immediate impact on his national team debut. Khalilzadeh played a long pass to Hardani, who broke down the right wing and laid the ball off to Gholizadeh. He found Taremi in the box, who forwarded the ball to Jahanbakhsh who shot took a deflection and beat the keeper to give Iran the lead. This would be the only goal of the game but enough to give Iran a winning start.

Next up was Iraq who for security reasons was playing its home games in Doha. 

Iraq, who nearly eliminated Iran in the previous round and were now under the guidance of the Dutch Dick Advocaat, vowed to take an attacking approach to the game while Iran would continue to be lead assistant Marijo Tot due to Skocic’s COVID recovery. With Azmoun back in the lineup, Iran had the best possible start when Nourollahi released Taremi on the left flank, who found Jahanbakhsh with a cross, who then headed the ball into goal after just three minutes. 

Iran took a bit more of a laid-back approach aftwerward and was almost punished early into the second half although the disallowed goal was rightfully denied due to a clear offside position. In the 69^th minute Iran doubled its lead when Azmoun’s hopeful ball forward found Tarmi who controlled the ball extremely well before nutmegging the keeper. 

Substitutes Ansarifard and Gholizadeh then combined well into injury time for the latter to convert from close range for an ultimate 3-0 win.

On the back of only one loss in 16 prior meetings between the two sides, Iran traveled to the UAE the following month to take on the hosts. 

The UAE started spirited and for large parts of the match were the better side whose best chance in the first half was headed wide. A clumsy challenge by Noorafkan in the box was cause for concern although the ref waived off the UAE’s calls for a penalty kick. Early in the second half Iran threatened with Azmoun and Jahanbakhsh creating opportunities. Iran escaped a scare when Khalilzadeh pulled down a UAE player racing clear and while the ref initially reached for his red card, the video assistant referee ruled Mabkhout was in fact offside when receiving the original pass. In the 70^th minute Azmoun looped a pass to Taremi who easily skipped the ball past the onrushing keeper. 

With one minute remaining, Iran had a chance to double their lead when Taremi was brought down by Abdullah Ramadan in the box but Ali Khaseif saved Azmoun’s strike for the game to end 1-0.

With Iran and South Korea emerging as front runners in the table, the teams faced off five days later in Tehran with Iran poised to strengthen its grip on qualification and the Koreans hoping to snap Iran’s winning streak. 

In an empty Azadi Stadium both teams had chances in the first half with the most dangerous being Azmoun’s long range shot that was only cleared as far as Taremi whose bicycle kick was saved by the keeper. 

Korea struck first four minutes into the second half with a through-ball on a counterattack ending Beiranvand’s run of six consecutive clean sheets. 

Soon after Iran dominated the match putting the Koreans under intense pressure. Ezzatollahi could have equalized in the 67^th minute but his strike hit the inside of the post. In the 76^th minute Azmoun’s effort kept a ball from going out for a goalkick and the resulting cross from the left side of the six-yard box found Jahanbakhsh who buried his powerful header in the back of the net. 

Iran could have snatched victory minutes later but Taremi’s could strike once again rattled the woodwork. A defensive mixup in injury time almost gifted South Korea with a goal but Beiranvand managed to push the resulting shot out for a corner and in the end the teams settled for a 1-1 tie.

Next up would be two away ties against Lebanon and Syria. Prior to the games some internal turmoil reared its ugly head when Skocic stated that Iranian players were technically good and physically strong, but still tactically limited. Taremi took exception to the comment and criticized Skocic on his Twitter account. As a result he was left off of Iran’s roster for these two qualifiers. Against Lebanon, Iran began the match strong. 

There would be early threats from a couple of Jahanbakhsh strikes, however, it would be Lebanon who stuck first. A cross from the right seemed to be sailing out of bounds only for the strong wind from behind the goal to keep the ball in play. The ball kindly fell to a Lebanese player who calmly controlled the ball before lifting his finish over Beiranvand. 

Iran pushed for the equalizer, with Azmoun’s close range shot being saved by a reflex save by the keeper. Going into injury time Iran looked set to accept their first defeat of this round until the 92^nd minute when a deflected ball found Azmoun who poked it in for a late equalizer. 

Minutes later Azmoun’s shot was blocked only to fall to Nourollahi who smashed it home with a low drive from the edge of the area to give Iran the win with the last kick of the game and keep them unbeaten as the group phase hit the halfway point.

Still missing Taremi, Iran squared up in Amman against Syria who were now under the guidance of a new coach. 

Beiranvand’s shaky performance against Lebanon led to him being replaced in goal with Abedzadeh. In spite of it being an away game, Iran seemed much more at ease compared to the home tie. Iran threatened first with Nourollahi’s bouncing shot from inside of the box going just wide and Noorafkan’s shot being scooped up by the keeper. Azmoun opened the scoring in the 33^rd minute after outracing two Syrian defenders on a through-ball by Amiri and slipping his shot past the keeper. 

Just before halftime a handball in the box resulted in a penalty kick which Hajsafi converted to double the lead. Iran lead 2-0 at the half although not before Syria rattled the underside of Iran’s crossbar with a thunderous shot. Azmoun missed an empty net early in the half but with a minute left to play Gholizadeh juked and dribbled past several Syrian defenders in the box before scoring from close range to give Iran a 3-0 win.

Iran would next face Iraq in a game where victory would ensure qualification for the World Cup. 

Due to Covid-19 a number of players, including Hajsafi, Hosseini and Azmoun would be sidelined. While Taremi had patched up his differences with Skocic, however, a gameday arrival made it uncertain if he would play although ultimately he would be in the starting lineup. Furthermore Abezdadeh kept his place in between the posts. Both teams had chances in the first half with Jahanbakhsh rattling the post and Abedzadeh making a goalline save. The Iraqi keeper was forced to make a double save after Jahanbakhsh’s shot was spilled into Taremi’s path, with his follow-up being parried away. He later saved a one on one chance with Gholizadeh but in the second half the deadlock was finally broken. A Jahanbakhsh low through-ball provided Taremi with a clear path on goal with him placing his shot just above the diving keeper to give Iran the lead. 

Ghoddos almost doubled Iran’s lead after Moharrami played him through, allowing him to take a low shot from close range that skimmed past the post. With a final 1-0 win, Iran secured their ticket to the World Cup with three games to spare.

With Abedzadeh seemingly established as the new starting keeper, Iran faced the UAE at Azadi. 

Just before halftime Iran took the lead when Jahanbakhsh crossed to Gholizadeh at the far post. While his header bounced off of the woodwork, Taremi reacted quickest to fire home. 

Three minutes into the second half Moharrami was late to a challenge and was shown a second yellow card, reducing Iran to 10 men. 

The UAE forced Abedzadeh into action with a whipped shot from distance while Jahanbakhsh and Gholizadeh tried their luck with long rang shots that were handled by the UAE keeper. Taremi would also fire over from eight yards out but in the end Iran would win 1-0 to stay at the top of the table.

In its second to last match, Iran took on ancient rival South Korea in Seoul in a match where both teams had already qualified for the upcoming World Cup. 

While Iran was missing main players Moharrami and Ezzatollahi (suspension), and Ghoddoos, Jahanbakhsh and Taremi (Covid), however, pride and bragging rights prompted the Koreans to field their strongest lineup in hopes of beating Iran in 90 minutes for the first time in over 20 years. Iran almost had a dream start when a Korean defensive blunder gifted Hajsafi with an opportunity in the box but with his back to the goal and a teammate open to his left, he opted for a shot that was easily blocked. The Koreans threatened minutes later and while they beat Abedzadeh to a cross, however, the resulting header went wide. 

Just before halftime a long range shot seemed to be an easy save for Abedzadeh but his misdirected punch had the ball bounce down, ricochet off his foot and open the scoring for the Koreans. 

He made up for his gaffe early in the second half when he blocked a 1v1 opportunity and the subsequent rebound. South Korea doubled their lead in the 63^rd minute after a neat series of passing and a back pass being finished off by King Young Hwon. 

Iran’s game seemed unorganized and disjointed and three national team debuts (albeit as substitutes) did nothing to produce any kind of rhythm. With 10 minutes left Azmoun directed a diving header on goal (when shooting would have been the better option) but the keeper easily collected and his header was saved.

A minute later Azmoun set up Sayyadmanesh with a tricky flick but, with just the keeper to beat, he chipped wide. Korea came close twice in the closing moments with Kananazadegan making a crucial block and Abedzadeh saving on the line but in the end Korea would emerge as 2-0 winners and new group leaders. In spite of it being his first loss as head coach for Iran, Skocic was heavily criticized for his lineup and tactics with calls for him to be replaced.

In a rare occurrence the final qualifying game against Lebanon was played away from Azadi and in Mashhad instead. 

For this inconsequential match Beiranvand returned between the posts while Sayyadmanesh also got a start. Having a mathematical chance of reaching the playoff, the game meant much more to the Lebanese. Iran had most of the possession and threatened first with Jahanbakhsh’s 20 yard strike that was parried by the keeper. In the 35th minute Kananizadegan dissected the defense to find Azmoun's perfectly timed run, with him easing the ball home to give Iran the lead. Lebanon had a chance before halftime although their effort from close range narrowly cleared the crossbar. The guests came close again in the second half when following a defensive giveaway a volleyed effort went only inches wide but Iran would strike again to put the match beyond reach. Another Kananizadegan pass unlocked the Lebanese defense before Jahanbakhsh beat the keeper with a cultured side-footed effort which sent the bouncing ball floating into the net from 15 yards. 

With the 2-0 win, and combined with South Korea’s loss against UAE, Iran topped the qualifying group with 25 points.