At 22:30 Beijing time on January 27, the seventh round of Group A of the World Preliminary Round of 12 in Asia continued, with Iran sitting at home to meet Iraq. In the first half, neither team achieved anything; in the second half, Taremi scored and Golizad's goal was blown. In the end, Iran defeated Iraq 1-0 and advanced to the World Cup three rounds ahead of schedule.
In the 48th minute, Jahanbachsh's direct pass, Ahmed Kayaffei's mistake, Taremi single-handedly went straight into the box and pushed into the net! Iran leads 1-0!
In the end, Iran defeated Iraq 1-0, with an unbeaten record of 6 wins and 1 draw, successfully returned to the first place in the group, and the strength of the first place in Asia was beyond doubt. Of course, they also became the first Asian team to reach the World Cup in Qatar through qualifiers.
It is worth mentioning that Iran's top scorer Azmoun missed the match, but another Champions League-level top scorer, Taremi, stepped forward. In November last year, Taremy was kicked out of the national team training list at the time for public criticism of national team coach Skic on social media, but this issue successfully returned.
It will also be Iran's third consecutive World Cup fixture. In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, they were in Group F with Argentina, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally did not win a single victory and came out at the bottom; in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Iran fell into the "death group" where Spain and Portugal were located, and finally missed the qualification with a difference of 1 point.
In this match, the Azadi Stadium also has a highlight - female fans live to watch. For the first time in nearly three years, they were allowed to enter the stadium to watch the game.
In the latest Group A standings, Iran tops the list, followed by four teams, including South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. In the next round, South Korea will be locked in the second direct promotion place in the group as long as it wins Syria; the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria at the bottom will compete for the only intercontinental play-off qualification in the group.