Iran set World Cup scoring record with 19-0 win

© Reuters Limited 2000

Iran set a World Cup qualifying record score when they beat Guam 19-0 in Asia's first round of qualifying for the 2002 finals.

Charlton Athletic midfielder Karim Bagheri scored six times at the Takhti Stadium in Tabriz on Friday as Iran improved on their own record, set when they defeated the Maldives 17-0 in the qualifying tournament for the 1998 finals.

Bagheri scored seven in the win over the Indian Ocean island side in 1997, helping Iran qualify for the World Cup for the first time for 20 years.

Other scorers were Ali Daei, the current Asian player of the year, who claimed four, as did Pirouzi striker Ali Karimi.

Esteghlal's former Rapid Vienna forward Farhad Majidi hit a hat-trick.

The defeat was the second by the same scoreline this year for the American protectorate. They were beaten 19-0 by China in January in the Asian Cup qualifying tournament in Vietnam.