Iran On The Same Path To World Cup

[Kian Persepolis]

Saudi Arabia and Iraq escaped us again...
Would have preferred Japan over Korea too

[BehnamT]

this is by far the best way to describe which group is easy and difficult.
http://footballitarin.com/link_page.php?id=289932
the only part that i agree this is easy group is " gav bandi" between arabs team against iran.
and by the way if someone ( Branko ) does not know who is in pot 1 should shut up and dont comment ( i assume the journalist who wrote this is correct and did not write it by mistake ) read the last line of this link
http://footballitarin.com/link_page.php?id=289989

[Omid177]

You forgot Australia buddy.

Iran and Australia were in the same pot.

[AIrani]

Qatar playing fair? I still remember they got bean 5-1 in order to knock Iran out of the world cup.

I suppose everything is relative. Remember what Iraq did to Iran several times? or Saudi's? In group B, there are three Arab teams, they could do "gov bandi."

Iran is ranked number one in Asia. Iran should focus on all the games and avoid getting yellow, red, and preferably no injuries.

[pdot]

Iran got the easier group.

Uzbekistan, China, Qatar, Syria <<< Arabia, Emirates, Iraq, Thailand


If we win our first few games we should be able to relax for the rest of the qualifications.

[ehsan singapore]

I don´t understand why so many of you say that this is an easy group? Uzebekistan, Korea and Qatar will make our life hard because they want to take revenge.
Saudi, Japan and Iraq would be much better!

nooo, the less arab team is better

[MR.S]

S.Korea > Japan
they run the full 90 minutes so japan would have been more suitbile , and korea actually made it to the finals of AC. If i hade to choose the best team in asia beside iran I would have said S.korea

[ehsan singapore]

S.Korea > Japan
they run the full 90 minutes so japan would have been more suitbile , and korea actually made it to the finals of AC. If i hade to choose the best team in asia beside iran I would have said S.korea

your right but they alway play bad against us,

[mahestan]

Decent group. I expect we will have the same difficulties as usual. Would've been nice to have Thailand instead of SK in our group.

[Cataphract]

http://sport360.com/article/football...tar-and-syria/

Don't forget to follow the link. At the bottom there is a poll, where you can vote which team you think will be the group winner. Iran is leading with 55%

2018 Asian World Cup qualifiers Group A team guide: Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, China, Qatar and Syria

The final round of the World Cup AFC qualifiers took place Tuesday and here we have the lowdown on each team competing for a place in Russia.

From key men to best World Cup finishes, we have you covered.

IRAN

NICKNAME: Team Melli
STADIUM: Azadi Stadium
COACH: Carlos Quieroz

KEY PLAYER: Sardar Azmoun. Dubbed the ‘Iranian Messi’, Azmoun is one of the most exciting talents the country has ever produced. The 20-year-old Rubin Kazan striker enjoyed a breakthrough 2015 and will lead his country’s line in the third round.

HOW THEY GOT THIS FAR: Like the Saudis, Iran advanced with an unbeaten second round record, one that saw them dominate a weak group. They are looking for a second successive World Cup appearance for the first time in their history.

DID YOU KNOW? Iran withdrew from qualification for the 1986 World Cup after refusing to play their fixtures on neutral grounds due to their war with Iraq.

LAST WORLD CUP: Brazil 2014

WORLD CUP BEST: Round 1 in 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014

SOUTH KOREA

NICKNAME: The Taeguk Warriors
STADIUM: Seoul Olympic Stadium/Seoul World Cup Stadium
COACH: Uli Stielike

KEY PLAYER: Son Heung-Min. The Tottenham man has shared a title-challenging dressing room at White Hart Lane this season and will be buoyed by his club efforts. Six goals in four second round matches shows how good he is for his country.

HOW THEY GOT THIS FAR: South Korea found second round qualifying easy, winning all eight of their matches in Group G. One of the region’s heavyweights, their progression to the World Cup should be a formality having appeared at eight successive tournaments since 1986.

DID YOU KNOW? Interim Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink led the side to a World Cup semi-final on home soil in 2002, South Korea beating the likes of Portugal, Italy and Spain at the tournament.

LAST WORLD CUP: Brazil 2014

WORLD CUP BEST: Fourth place – Korea and Japan 2002


UZBEKISTAN

NICKNAME: White Wolves
STADIUM: Bunyodkor Stadium
COACH: Samvel Babayan

KEY PLAYER: Azizbek Haydarov. Al Shabab’s tough-tackling midfielder is the very definition of no-nonsense. He has the second worst disciplinary record in second round qualifying with three yellows and a red card but his aggressive approach will be needed if Uzbekistan are to reach the finals for the first time.

HOW THEY GOT THIS FAR: On the back of seven wins and a single loss, Uzbekistan reached the last stage of the regional qualifying again. But the Uzbeks have fallen at this hurdle in each of the five previous campaigns so they know it will be a tricky task ahead.

DID YOU KNOW? Although Uzbekistan have not qualified for a World Cup in their own right, they were formerly part of the USSR. They played their first match as an independent country in 1992 against Tajikistan.

LAST WORLD CUP: None

WORLD CUP BEST: N/A


CHINA

NICKNAME: Team Dragon
STADIUM: The Worker’s Stadium
COACH: Gao Hongbo

KEY PLAYER: Zeng Cheng. The Guangzhou Evergrande goalkeeper is one of the best on the continent and if he is on form to stem the flow of goals, China has a chance.

HOW THEY GOT THIS FAR: The Chinese scraped through Group C thanks to a win over table toppers Qatar in their final group game after another disappointing campaign – surprising given then growing influence of the country’s domestic league.

DID YOU KNOW? China have never scored a World Cup goal – their only appearance to date in 2002 saw them ship nine and fail to register at the other end.

LAST WORLD CUP: 2002

WORLD CUP BEST: Group stage – 2002


QATAR

NICKNAME: The Maroon
STADIUM: Khalifa International Stadium
COACH: Jose Daniel Correno

KEY PLAYER: Mohammed Musa. The Lekhwiya defender is a stalwart for his country and keeps their defence together. Four goals in qualifying also shows he has an eye for goal.

HOW THEY GOT THIS FAR: Qatar were highly impressive in the second round, losing just once and winning the remaining seven matches en route to finishing top of their group. It was encouraging for a team desperate to qualify for the World Cup on merit before hosting the event in 2022.

DID YOU KNOW? Qatar’s first World Cup qualifying match was a 2-0 win over Bahrain in 1977.

LAST WORLD CUP: None

WORLD CUP BEST: N/A


SYRIA

NICKNAME: Qasioun Eagles
STADIUM: Aleppo International Stadium, Abbasiyyin Stadium
COACH: None

KEY PLAYER: Oman Khribin. With seven goals in qualifying so far, Khribin has been integral to Syria’s progress. They will need the goals to continue if their World Cup dreams are to be fulfilled.

HOW THEY GOT THIS FAR: Syria were superb in reaching this stage, losing only to Japan – the eventual winners of their group. It led to the Syrians attempting to bring in Jose Mourinho as their manager – it is a vacancy they will be keen to fill ASAP as they search for what would be a remarkable spot at the World Cup against a backdrop of continuing political unrest in the country.

DID YOU KNOW? Syria were disqualified from qualifying for the last World Cup in Brazil after fielding an ineligible player, George Mourad, who had previously represented Sweden U21s.

LAST WORLD CUP: None

WORLD CUP BEST: N/A

[Bessos]

http://sport360.com/article/football...tar-and-syria/
Don't forget to follow the link. At the bottom there is a poll, where you can vote which team you think will be the group winner. Iran is leading with 55%

IRAN is so strong that it will finish the group with 30 points and everyone else will finish bottom of the group with 0 points.
...
IRAN is so strong that it can disqualify every other team in the group.
...
QATAR is so scared that they're trying to get into GROUP B as we speak.
...
GO I. R. IRAN !!!

[Z Joon]

[NFL]

^^^ LOOOOOL

but you know they won't come..

[Bessos]

^^^ LOOOOOL

but you know they won't come..

If Iraq's football federation was actually smart and not corrupt, they would have stood their ground and most likely got the 3 points from Saudi Arabia for when they didn't come.

But yeah, you're right, they will probably give in to Saudi pressure and change the venue for them.

[sirvan]

I can say that we are already in World Cup 2018! Iran and South Korea. I expect Uzbekistan 3th. I pray Allah no Saudi's and we don't have them. I except Australia group winners and Japan second.
I hope we not forget to make goal in World Cup 2018!! We did good games in Brasil 2014. But Bosnia game was so poor

Well Allah's house is in (Saudi) Arabia so he's not going to be happy that you asked this from him.