Round 9 of Group A of the Round of 12, South Korea played Iran at home, which was a focus battle. Prior to this battle, Iran won 7 of 8 matches and drew 1, with 22 points at the top of Group A; South Korea won 6 of 8 matches and drew 2 draws, ranking second with 20 points. Both teams have already qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the outcome of this match has not had much impact on the results of both sides.
South Korea and Iran, both teams are traditional Asian powerhouses. However, for South Korea, Iran is a "nightmare" for South Korea, which has not beaten Iran in an official match for 11 years. It is conceivable how eager South Korea, playing at home, is to beat Iran and qualify for the World Cup as the first in the group.
Judging from the starting lineup of South Korea, this game is the main force to play, Son Heung-min, Hwang Yi-joo, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Jae-seong, Kim Hyun-jae and other foreign players all started the game, and head coach Paul Bento did not have any reservations. On the contrary, iran is short of major generals, and the main fronts such as Taremi and Jahanbachsh cannot fight for various reasons.
South Korea finally beat Iran at home, and the 2-0 score reflected the strength of this team. Both goals were scored by players familiar to Chinese fans.
In the last moments of the first half, Son Xingyu showed the role of a star, facing the defense of four Iranian players on the periphery, he was still able to penetrate Iran's gate with a world wave, directly playing Iran's goalkeeper Abezad, and the ball fell out of his hand into the net. Judging from this goal alone, Son Heung-min is a top star, at least in Asia.
In the 62nd minute of the second half, South Korea once again tore open Iran's backline with a wonderful positional battle. Huang Yisuke broke through at high speed, clipped the Iranian defender, and passed the ball to Lee Jae-sung, who received the ball and swept it directly in front of the goal, and the veteran Chinese Super League player Kim Young-kwon, who was ambushed at the back of the penalty area, pushed the empty goal to win.
In fact, through the data of the game, South Korea's victory is no accident. In the whole game, South Korea had 14 shots on goal, 6 shots on target, while iran only had 6 shots on goal and 1 shot on target. The huge gap in the number of shots on goal reflects the performance of the two teams in this game.
South Korea suppressed Iran in the whole game, did not give the Asian first chance, especially after scoring the second goal in the second half, and dominated the game.
After the battle, South Korea, which won 2-0, came to the top of Group A, 1 point ahead of Iran. In the final round of the round of the twelve, South Korea played against the United Arab Emirates, who was third in the group, and Iran against Lebanon, who was fourth in the group. At present, which team can qualify for the World Cup with the top result of this group still depends on the result of the final round of matches. However, judging from the current points alone, South Korea has the initiative.