Iran firm bet Make to Argentina

Robin Parke

With the marathon Asia-Oceania World Cup final elimination group halfway towards completion, Asian Champions Iran look a firm bet to make it to Argentina, thanks mainly to their lone goal away win over Australia.

 With three matches played Iran have taken five points from six but the crunch game was in Sydney where a goal In the last 20 minutes was enough to beat a disappointing Australian side who missed a penalty one minute before the interval.

on that miss the game turned and a disappointed Australian coach, 30‑year old Englishman Jim  Shoulder, said later: I You need the breaks. They went Iran's way today, now we really up against it”

 Iran forced a creditable 0‑0 draw with the strong South Korean team In Seoul and beat a visibly nervous Hong Kong 2‑0 In the Crown Colony, leaving themselves in the happy position of playing their remaining games at home-‑ plus; one away to their Middle Eastern neighbors Kuwait.

 Little wonder that the Iranian Players were mobbed by an ecstatic crowd on their return  to Teheran from Australia. The fiercely ambitious Iranians clearly see Argentina just around the corner, and it is difficult to disagree with this viewpoint

 The Iranians showed some of their power in the Real Madrid Centenary tournament this year and there is no doubt that they are the most advanced of all the Asian and Middle Eastern nations.

 Future

 The failure of Australia at home was a bitter blow to the country's burgeoning soccer hopes and future. Officials of the Soccer Federation, notably their able secretary, Mr. Brian  Le Fevre,  spoke of the vast amount of money they were forced to spend on their bid to make it to their second successive World Cup finals.  'We undertook a very extensive tour of Asia and Europe late last year and, of course, because of our geographical position we have to outlay a lot of money to enable  us to complete our commitments overseas “ he said

 Purely for finance the Australian Soccer Federation considered participation in the 1978 finals  as vital. Those hopes, though not extinct, are definitely wavering at the moment

 It looked for a time during their home game against South Korea as If Australia's travel plans to Argentina had perished for good. They trailed 1‑0 at the interval and ,and did not score the eventual winner in a 2‑1 result until eight minutes from time ‑ and a most fortunate goal it was.

 A Korean defender blazed the ball frantically away from the goalmouth in an effort to clear his lines only to see the ball strike Australian forward John Kosmina in the chest and arc lazily back over the despairing leap of the Korean goalkeeper.

 The Koreans, who are a doughty set of fighters, were worth a valuable paint and certainly, Australia can expect a battle royal when they face up to the return In the Korean port city of Pusan in late October.

 Staked

 Hong Kong’s modest hopes of global glory finished very early on. Forced, through financial reasons chiefly, to play two home games immediately, everything was effectively staked on the outcome against Iran and South Korea. The results were depressing. Palpably nervous In front of 28,000 chanting fans the Colony side went under 2‑0 to Iran through goals conceded by basic defensive errors.

 A week later they were drawing 0-0  with South Korea until nine minutes from time when a free kick, stupidly conceded on the edge of the area, was driven‑home by impressive Korean striker Cha  Bum‑kuen. A long journey to Adelaide ended in a dispiriting  defeat despite an excellent first half which saw Australia looking far from World Cup material against the speedy Chinese forwards.

 Quest

 The dark houses in the quest for Asia' s ticket to Argentina are undoubtedly the Kuwaitis who have yet to play a game. Coached by Brazilian maestro Mario Zagallo,  who arguably knows more about the World Cup than anybody ‑ two medals as a player in 1958 and 1962 and team manager in 1970 and 1974 ‑ the enthusiastic Kuwaitis have certainly blossomed under his care.

 Kuwait broke new ground by going to Britain where they tackled the Welsh international team and played a couple of club friendlies. It is a good build up to the present Asian elimination series but there are doubts about the team. Zagallo admits himself that the team built around a nucleus of four players. “If I lost them, or even an one of them, then my team is in a big trouble. That is the terrible risk we run.” “It is not like Brazil. We do not have the reserves if something goes wrong” he said.

 With this in mind, it seems remarkably strange that Kuwait will play all their games over a six weeks period out of the five months allowed for the completion of the five-nation event. This will put an enormous strain on the players and the risk of injury – the very thing that Zagallo fears most- is consequently even higher than would be considered normal.

 The Kuwaitis will make their first appearance in Hong Kong on October 2^nd and there will be plenty of attention focused on them. The oil rich nation has not spared hard cash in a bid for success. Although the players are, in fact, amateurs bonuses in the form of houses and cars had been handed out following success in the Asian Championship and competitions and a berth in Argentina would have its considerable rewards for players, and of course, the coach Mr. Zagallo.

However, it is the Iranians who have done the things that really matters most. They have put the early points on the board, and the pressure firmly on their most immediate challengers, Australia.

Australia faced with a ferociously tough away program and still with problems in their team, must be odds against in their efforts for a second tilt at the world cup. Iran, strong and resourceful, are the logical choice at this time to be Asia’s elect in Argentina. And they might well prove excellent ambassadors too.