AFC will not count points against 5th placed teams!

[Damavand]

Don’t forget this Hong Kong team may be able to snatch a point from either Bahrain or Iraq. If that happens it will be a godsend and really help us out as well. With all the injustices we have received we deserve some breaks going our way.

[Keshwardoost]

well, if the bahrainis play on the same pitch as we did today, against hong kong and the hongs arent bribed, that game will be interesting!
it would be fun, if the bahraini intentionaly-made lousy pitch result in them drawing against hong kong..

[milad_b]

Iraq is playing all of their games in the pitch that we played today. However I doubt HK getting a draw out of iraq.

Whats worrying is that we will be playing iraq in the same pitch we played in today! IFF should complain and change it to al ahli stadium pitch

well, if the bahrainis play on the same pitch as we did today, against hong kong and the hongs arent bribed, that game will be interesting!
it would be fun, if the bahraini intentionaly-made lousy pitch result in them drawing against hong kong..

[Damavand]

I am really worried about the referee in our Bahrain game. With what I saw today I fear there will be a lot calls going against us that day.

The players should be aware that the ref will be looking after Bahrain’s interests as much as he can.

[rdwrrr]

Iraq is playing all of their games in the pitch that we played today. However I doubt HK getting a draw out of iraq.

Whats worrying is that we will be playing iraq in the same pitch we played in today! IFF should complain and change it to al ahli stadium pitch

We will not play in this stadium anymore.

[Keshwardoost]

feels like those old tv games. every level had their own "boss" that you had to beat, and every boss had its own power and weakness..
every game here has its own rigged things, hong kong it was the pitch and the ref was fishy to..
behrain is the next level, something will be added there, maybe they will put a robot in the football so its controlled by some sheikh in the stads

[milad_b]

We will not play in this stadium anymore.

where we gonna play then bro ? where are we scheduled to play in? Cuz last time i checked its this stadium and its in iraq game.

[milad_b]

We will not play in this stadium anymore.

Yes we will as we're scheduled there and unless IFF do something about it we have to play there !

Iraq has all their games in this stadium so they will get used to it more than us.

[Azeem98]

You are right in a way, but qualifiers can be tricky and there are no easy games anymore (OK, there are still teams like Cambodia...).

Some examples:
- Denmark never really qualified for the EURO 1992, but when Yugoslavia was diqualified Denmark got that final spot instead and would go on and win it all.
- Brazil did struggle badly to qualify for the WC2002, but managed to qualify in the end and later became world champions.
- Mexico didn't probably "deserve" to qualify for the WC2014, but managed to sneak through in the qualifiers just because their archrivals, the US (who had nothing to play for) managed to turn a 1-2-deficit into a win by scoring two late goals in overtime against Panama. If Panama would have held on to that lead Mexico would have been eliminated and (probably) Panama would have been in the WC instead. Mexico would qualify and later reach the Round of 16.

My point is that the qualifiers don't necessarily reflect the quality of a team, and considering everything that has gone against Iran in these qualifiers in addition of playing against two bogey teams, Iran still could do great in a potential WC which is what we all want to see in the end.

Precisely this. International football isn't like club football, teams only get together for a few weeks. It doesn't matter how you get there once you qualified you have enough time to prepare for the finals. Rest is history

[ABalls]

So without counting Cambodia's matches, our goal differential is +2 and Bahrain's is +1.

That's nice, but this next game is a must win. Too many variables up in the air right now and we need to have the edge over Bahrain.

[Ostad_Goosfand]

Lebanon beat Sri Lanka 3-2. Damn. Hopefully Turkmenistan can tie them. Lebanon can barely beat Sri Lanka but gonna go to next round cause of this afc rule

[Kian H]

Lebanon only beating Sri Lanka with one goal could turn out to be very important for us. If Lebanon loose against Turkmenistan and South Korea, they Will finish on 10 points, the same as us, if we get 4 points from the Iraq and Bahrain games. And since they only won by 1 goal, they dont have to loose Those games with more than one goal. Lets hope they loose both Those games. Its not impossible

[teammelli91]

So without counting Cambodia's matches, our goal differential is +2 and Bahrain's is +1.

That's nice, but this next game is a must win. Too many variables up in the air right now and we need to have the edge over Bahrain.

Of course! And what we don't focus on unfortunately is that this match is a must win for both teams. And time after time again, Iran has proven they get the job done during dark and difficult times. Even when our team was in a difficult spot in the 2010 WCQ'ers under Afshin Ghotbi. They still managed to defeat UAE 1-0 and were up 1-0 in Korea until Sung scored.

What I mean to say is this team with the quality of players that we have is more than capable of defeating Bahrain. Team Melli are aware of the sensitivity of the situation and I'm 100% sure that they will not let Bahraini's mind games or profanity in Farsi get to them. Half of the team plays in Europe where talking shit and hard hitting shoulder tackles are common. With Bagheri and Hashemian there they will prepare them well.

For Iran this is a World Cup final, for Bahrain it's qualifying to the World Cup

We will defeat Bahrain.

[Soosk]

I miss carlos so much. Miss not having to worry about a thousand different mathematical calculations and scenarios in order to determine if team meli qualifies. Miss not having to worry about our defence. I know its really unlikely but I wish he comes back one more time to lead team meli again.

[Philosophy_King]

Turkmenistan is a strong Team, i remember how they gave us a hard time during WCQ. They are def. capable of defeating Lebanon.