WCQ 2026: Iran vs. Kyrgyzstan [Preview]

Sportsmole.co.uk – FULADSHAHR, Iran will kick off the third phase of 2026 World Cup qualifying when they welcome Kyrgyzstan to Folad Shahr Stadium on Thursday.

The two countries are competing in Group A alongside Qatar, United Arab Emirates, North Korea and Uzbekistan.

Iran have made a habit of appearing at World Cups, having reached each of the last three finals since they missed out on the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Team Melli began their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in the second round, taking 14 points from six matches to finish top of Group E ahead of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hong Kong.

Iran have ultimately proven to be a tough team to beat under Amir Ghalenoei, who has overseen 18 wins, four draws and just one defeat in his second stint in charge of the national side.

Having put together a four-game unbeaten run, Team Melli will look to continue that run in their meeting with Kyrgyzstan since recording a 5-1 victory at the 2023 CAFA Nations Cup.

The hosts will be confident of claiming another positive result in Thursday’s fixture, having avoided defeat in each of their last 22 World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan are competing in the third stage after finishing in second position and one point better off than Malaysia in the second round.

After losing 4-3 in their opening qualifying game against Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan went on to record three consecutive victories, including back-to-back wins over Chinese Taipei.

They went on to play out back-to-back 1-1 draws against Malaysia and Oman to clinch a top-two spot and keep their hopes alive of reaching the World Cup for the first time.

Having made it to the third stage, Kyrgyzstan will now be dreaming of securing automatic qualification via a top-two finish or at least a third or fourth spot which would send them into an additional round.

Team News

Shoja Khalilzadeh and Amin Hazbavi are set to operate in central defence, while Saleh Hardani and Abolfazl Jalali could feature as the two full-backs.

Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi are likely to line up in the front two, with the pair sitting in second and third place respectively in Iran’s all-time leading goalscorers list.

As for the visitors, they could implement a back five of Kayrat Zhyrgalbek uulu, Khristiyan Brauzman, Tamirlan Kozubaev, Valery Kichin and Aleksandr Mishchenko.

Joel Kojo is set to offer one of Kyrgyzstan’s main goal threats, having scored seven goals in his 17 international appearances.

Iran possible starting lineup:
Beiranvand; Hardani, Khalilzadeh, Hazbavi, Jalali; Jahanbakhsh, Ghorbani, Ghoddos, Ghayedi; Taremi, Azmoun

Kyrgyzstan possible starting lineup:
Tokotaev; Zhyrgalbek uulu, Brauzman, Kozubaev, Kichin, Mishchenko; Akhmedov, Abdurakhmanov, Shukurov, Alykulov; Kojo

Prediction: Iran 3-1 Kyrgyzstan

Iran have won 16 of their last 20 home matches in World Cup qualifying, and we think that they will make full use of home advantage again to begin the third stage with a comfortable victory.