Iran defeats Iraq 1-0 to qualify for spot in World Cup

By: The Associated Press Posted: 1:40 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mehdi Taremi scored from close range Thursday to lead Iran's national soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Iraq and seal the Islamic Republic's third straight World Cup berth.

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mehdi Taremi scored from close range Thursday to lead Iran's national soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Iraq and seal the Islamic Republic's third straight World Cup berth.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2022 (1698 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mehdi Taremi scored from close range Thursday to lead Iran’s national soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Iraq and seal the Islamic Republic’s third straight World Cup berth.

Taremi, the FC Porto striker, scored the only goal of the game in the 48th minute in the second half. He scored from inside the penalty box on a pass from midfield Ali Reza Jahanbakhsh.

Iran’s win came in Group A of the Asia region.

Iranian women enter the Azadi stadium to watch a soccer match of their national team with Iraq during 2022 World Cup qualifiers, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. Iranian authorities allowed women to watch a football match at the stadium as hardliners have long opposed the decision of the government. Iran became the first team from Asia to qualify for this year's World Cup in Qatar with a 1-0 win over Iraq. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The win at Tehran Azadi stadium was Iran’s earliest jump into the qualifiers. It marked the sixth time Iran has earned a spot in the World Cup in the nation’s history.

Despite the fast spread of the aggressive omicron variant of the coronavirus in Iran, the government Wednesday approved the presence of some 10,000 spectators in the 100,000-seat stadium.

More than 2,000 were women. It was the second major soccer event that Iranian women have watched in the stadium. In 2019, for the first time in decades, hundreds of Iranian women were allowed to watch Persepolis play the Kashima Antlers of Japan in the Asian Champions League final.