Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers Third Round: Uzbekistan 0-1 Iran [VIDEO]
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Loading...AFC – TASHKENT, A Jalal Hosseini header ended Uzbekistan’s 100% record in third round qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup as Islamic Republic of Iran defeated the Central Asians 1-0 in Tashkent on Thursday.
Uzbekistan came into the tie on the back of 1-0 wins over Syria and Qatar, but Hosseini’s goal on 27 minutes proved the difference maker as Carlos Queiroz’s team picked up their seventh point in three games to remain unbeaten so far.
Samvel Babayan’s side tried to respond in the second half but having lost playmaker Server Djeparov to injury just before the break, the White Wolves failed to break down a stout Iranian defence and suffered their first defeat of the qualifying campaign.
“I think we deserved this victory,” said Queiroz. “Uzbekistan also played well, but they controlled the ball in their area. We tried to go on the counterattack when we took the ball.
“We didn’t give many chances to Uzbekistan. They didn’t show their usual performance, and that was to our advantage. We blocked them every time they had dangerous shots and I congratulate my team on this positive result.
“I think the battle for the World Cup will continue. We took three points today, but we need more victories and points. It is just one more step towards our target. If any team makes any mistake in Tashkent they will lose.”
Uzbekistan went into the game without captain Odil Akhmedov due to his inability to recover from injury, while Queiroz made a raft of changes to his midfield and attack with an eye on the crunch match with Korea Republic on Tuesday.
One of those changes, Reza Goochannejhad, could have opened the scoring inside 10 minutes but he sliced his volley high and wide after he was picked out inside the area by full-back Ramin Rezaeian’s fine cross.
Iran did go in front before the half-hour mark, though, as centre-back Hosseini connected with a smart header from Masoud Shojaei’s inswinging free-kick from the right that left goalkeeper Aleksandr Lobanov helpless.
The hosts suffered a further blow five minutes before half-time as two-time AFC Player of the Year and captain on the night Djeparov was withdrawn from the field in a great deal of discomfort to be replaced by Alexander Geynrikh.
Uzbekistan begun the second period strongly and pushed forward in search of the leveller but struggled to penetrate the Iran backline.
Inside the final 20 minutes, substitute Jaloliddin Masharipov was brought down on the edge of the area in a hugely promising position but Geynrikh’s free-kick summed up Uzbekistan’s night as it hit the wall and rebounded away harmlessly.
And Iran could have ended the match even more comfortably as Sardar Azmoun, a second half replacement for Ghoochannejhad, played in Vahid Amiri but Lobanov was quick off his line to deny the midfielder, but Queiroz’s team still managed to see out the remaining minutes unscathed.
“Unfortunately we lost the game,” said Babayan. “The players tried to battle until the end of the match, but we couldn’t create chances without Akhmedov. We created some moments, but the team didn’t realise them. Now we have the next game and we need to pay attention to it.
“We lost the fight in the first 30 minutes tonight. Besides that, we couldn’t create any chances through the middle and those were the main reasons for our defeat tonight. We can’t play well in midfield without Akhmedov. Our defenders played well, but we lost many battles in the centre.”
