Iran midfielder Qoddous ruled out of Kyrgyzstan game with injury
Iran midfielder Saman Qoddous will miss Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek with a hamstring injury.
The Ittihad Kalba player, who sat out Thursday’s 3-2 victory over North Korea with the same problem, left the Iranian squad on Saturday to fly back to the UAE for further treatment on his injury.
Tractor center-back Shoja Khalilzadeh also missed the visit to the Kyrgyz capital after receiving his marching orders in the second half against North Korea and is likely to be replaced by Persepolis defender Hossein Kan’anizadegan in the starting XI.
Mohammad Mohebbi, who found the net twice on Thursday, will be the other key absentee for Team Melli in Bishkek after suffering the same injury as Qoddous, as Sepahan’s Mahdi Limouchi received a late callup to fill in for the Rostov FC winger.
Iran sits atop the Group A table with 13 points after five rounds of matches – three points clear of second-placed Uzbekistan, which fell to a 3-2 loss to Qatar in Doha last time out in the Asian qualifiers, and, more significantly, six above the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
With a top-two finish in each of the three groups securing direct qualification for the 2026 finals, maximum points in Tuesday’s game will all but guarantee a place for Amir Qalenoei’s side in the showpiece cohosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Iran had to dig deep for a 1-0 win on home soil in the reverse fixture in September, with a Mahdi Taremi’s first-half strike making the difference between the two sides in Isfahan’s Fooladshahr Stadium.