Iran ‘unprofessional’, but has one foot in World Cup finals
Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun lamented his side’s lack of “professional mentality” despite a 3-2 away win against Kyrgyzstan in the World Cup Asian qualifiers.
The hard-fought victory was still enough to see Iran retain the top spot in the Group A table with 16 points – three clear of Uzbekistan and, more significantly, six above third-placed United Arab Emirates.
With a top-two finish in each of the three groups securing direct qualification for the finals, Team Melli is all but guaranteed a place in the 2026 showpiece – cohosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada – with four games to spare in the third round of the Asian preliminaries.
Mahdi Taremi gave Iran a 12th-minute lead, when Saied Ezzatollahi’s header from a corner kick was saved by Erzhan Tokotaev, only for the Inter striker to find the net on the rebound.
The visiting side doubled the advantage on the break in the 33rd minute, with Azmoun releasing Saleh Hardani, before the Sepahan fullback slotted home past Tokotaev.
The second-half proceedings, however, were reminiscent of Iran’s unconvincing performance last Thursday, when Amir Qalenoei’s men led by three goals at halftime but struggled with North Korea’s surge after the break, ultimately winning 3-2.
Kyrgyz talisman Joel Kojo pulled one back for the host with a well-placed header in the 52nd minute and then sent Iranian keeper Alireza Beiranvand the wrong way from the spot for the equalizer 12 minutes later.
Pushed by the jam-packed crowed in Bishkek’s Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Kyrgyzstan looked more likely to bag a third goad, but it was Iran which found the winner against the run of play through Azmoun’s thumping header with 14 minutes left on the clock.
Azmoun still rued the complacency within the squad after Iran again came close to missing out on maximum points despite a commanding halftime cushion.
“Unfortunately, we are yet to reach a professional level of mentality,” said the Iranian, adding: “We think the game is over every time we are up by two goals. That is a big issue for us and I just hope we can solve it before the World Cup finals.”
“Iran definitely deserves to be where it is in the group. We might make a hard work of winning matches, but that’s the beauty of this game, and, at the end of day, three points are all that matters,” added the prolific striker.
Qalenoei, meanwhile, was delighted with the final outcome of a thrilling contest, though he acknowledged that his team’s defensive woes need to be addressed before the next international break.
“We managed to get a good win on a difficult day,” said the Iranian head coach. “I think it was a match that made the audience happy with five goals.
“In the second half, we conceded with two mistakes. Considering the travelling conditions we had, we have to praise our players who immediately fought back and scored the winning goal and created many chances. I thank each and every one of my players.
“We are happy that we got 16 points from six games. I am thrilled that we’ve become an attacking team. In our defensive structure, we have a series of problems that we need to fix in the three months we have.”
Iran will be back in the Asian qualifiers with a double header against the UAE and Uzbekistan in late March.
Elsewhere in the group on Tuesday, Uzbekistan secured a 1-0 win over North Korea in Vientiane with Abbosbek Fayzullaev’s deflected 44th-minute shot giving his side the lead before Umarbek Eshmurodov was sent off and Utkir Yusupov saved Jong Il Gwan’s late penalty.
The UAE thrashed Qatar 5-0 in Abu Dhabi, with Brazil-born striker Fabio Lima scoring four, including two from the penalty spot, as Paulo Bento’s team took sole possession of the third place ahead of the reigning Asian champion.
Saudis stunned
In other groups, Japan moved to the cusp of qualifying for the finals as a 3-1 win over host China coupled with Australia’s 2-2 draw in Bahrain took Hajime Moriyasu’s side nine points clear in the Group C table.
Koki Ogawa’s double in Xiamen earned Japan a fifth win in six games and allowed the Blue Samurai to extend the lead over the chasing pack as Australia and Saudi Arabia both faltered.
Kusini Yengi’s stoppage-time goal salvaged a point for the Socceroos in Riffa while the Saudis fell to a surprise 2-0 loss against Indonesia in Jakarta.
Australia needed a late equalizer to claim a point having seen Mahdi Abduljabbar score in the 75th and 77th minutes – the first from 40 yards – to cancel out Portsmouth striker Yengi’s first-minute opener for Tony Popovic’s side.
The Socceroos remain second in the standings, one point ahead of Indonesia, which pulled itself into contention in the group with the stunning home victory.
Marselino Ferdinan scored twice to give the Indonesians their first win of the campaign, which moves them level on six points with the Saudis, Bahrain and China.
Meanwhile, Group B leader South Korea was frustrated in Amman as Hong Myung-bo’s side was held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine.
South Korea failed to win for the first time in five matches, needing Son Heung-min’s 16th-minute strike to cancel out an early Zeid Qunbar opener.
Iraq downed Oman 1-0 in Muscat thanks to Youssef Amyn’s 36th-minute goal to move onto 11 points, with Jordan in third on nine after a 1-1 draw with host Kuwait.