Iran inches closer to World Cup berth with UAE victory
Tehran - Saba:
Iran took a significant step towards qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, securing a 2-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates in a crucial Asian qualifying match on Thursday.
Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring just before halftime, and Mohammad Mohebi sealed the win with a second goal in the 70th minute.
In a parallel Group A fixture, Uzbekistan defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in Tashkent, with Khodzhi Dianov scoring the decisive goal. Kyrgyzstan played a large part of the match with 10 men, after a red card was given to Said Datsev.
These results leave Iran atop Group A with 19 points, needing only one more point to secure their place in the World Cup finals for the seventh time. Uzbekistan remains in second place, three points behind. The UAE is in third. Kyrgystan is at the botom of the group.
This moves Iran closer to joining Japan as qualified nations for the 2026 World cup.
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