Iran qualify for World Cup 2022 with victory over Iraq

Dragan Skocic's team made it to the World Cup for sixth time with 1-0 win on Thursday

Iran's forward Mehdi Taremi, number 9, celebrates his opening goal with his teammates during the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifier against Iraq at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Thursday, January 27, 2022. AFP

Iran's Omid Nor Afkan, right, and Iraq's Ali Ibrahim Alzubaidi vie for the ball during their 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. Iran became the first team from Asia to qualify for this year's World Cup. AP

Iran's coach Dragan Skocic celebrates after qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. AFP

Iran’s Mahdi Taremi (R) celebrates after scoring the 1-0 during the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying soccer match between Iran and Iraq at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran, 27 January 2022. EPA / STRINGER

Iraq's Frans Dhia Haddad tackles Iran's Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Reuters

Iran's Hossein Kanani celebrates after the match. Reuters

Iran's forward Mehdi Taremi, right, celebrates his opening goal with his teammates. AFP

Iranian women fans cheer during the World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. EPA

Mehdi Taremi was on target on Thursday as Iran secured a 1-0 victory over Iraq and qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

Porto striker Taremi scored in the 48th minute from inside the penalty box on a pass from midfield Ali Reza Jahanbakhsh at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran to secure World Cup qualification for the sixth time.

They extended their unbeaten run since Croatian head coach Dragan Skocic took over in February 2020, with 11 wins and one draw.

Iran have 19 points from seven games in Group A, two ahead of South Korea, who are within touching distance of a 10th successive World Cup appearance after a 1-0 win over Lebanon.

With Tottenham forward Son Heung-min out injured, replacement forward Cho Gue-song scored from close range in Sidon just before halftime. South Korea can secure qualification with a win against Syria on Tuesday.

The UAE stayed eight points behind in third with a 2-0 win over Syria. The top two teams from each group qualify automatically. The third-place teams advance to a playoff.

Both Iran and Iraq teams were hit by the absence of players following positive tests for Covid-19. Bayer Leverkusen's Sardar Azmoun was among five Iranian players missing, along with eight Iraqi players.

Iran have played in the World Cup finals five times in the past - in 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2018 - while Iraq's last and only participation was in Mexico 1986.

Meanwhile, Iranian women were allowed for the first time in almost three years to attend a football match of their country's national team in Tehran.

World football's governing body FIFA ordered Iran in 2019 to allow women access to stadiums without restriction and in numbers determined by demand for tickets.

A month later women were able to attend a 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Cambodia at the Azadi Stadium. For the first match since then, 2,000 of the 10,000 tickets were set aside for women on Thursday for the qualifier against Iraq.