Iran faces another must-win challenge when they take on Cambodia while Iraq will face Hong Kong in their bid to keep pole position in Group C of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 on Friday.

Iraq will head into the matchday leading on 14 points, two ahead of Iran who are in second on goal difference in front of Bahrain.

Hong Kong are fourth with five points, with Cambodia head into their final match of the campaign with just one point from seven matches.

Iran knows they can’t afford to slip up against Cambodia as anything other than three points will mean their hopes of winning Group C will suffer a tremendous setback.

Team Melli, has, however, shown consistency since the resumption of the Asian Qualifiers, scoring a 3-1 win over Hong Kong before beating Bahrain 3-0 to move into second place.

Five different players found the back of the net in the six goals scored in those matches, with Sardar Azmoun scoring twice against the Bahrainis.

Having defeated Cambodia 14-0 when the two met in October 2019, head coach Dragan Skocic will expect nothing lesser than three points.

While the spotlight will be on Iran, Cambodia have nothing to lose as they head into the final match of their campaign.

With their hopes of playing in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals now depending on a playoff, the Southeast Asians will aim for an improved performance against Iran as they build on their experience.

The Battle of Second Place ranked teams.

With Qatar winning its group, it means 5 teams ranked second in the 8 groups will qualify for the next rounds of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Iran is currently lying second with 12 points. Its nearest rival in the group is Bahrain with the same points but inferior goal difference. Assuming Iran wins against Cambodia, the points will rise to 15.

On the current table, only two second-ranked teams are better placed than Iran, Jordan, and China.  The former has a tougher task as it playing Kuwait then top team Australia. China is also meeting Syria which has already qualified plus an easy game against the Maldives.

Group D where Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan are battling it out, both teams meet on the final day with any of the two liable to lose points.

Group E where Oman is now second to already qualified Qatar, a maximum of six points in the last two matches  (total 18 points) are not beyond Branko Ivankovic men and hence one of the qualification spots.

Group G, Thailand & UAE are fighting for the top spot with 14 & 12 points respectively.  Like the rest of the other groups, the leaders will be meeting on the last day and hence points will be lost by both teams.

In this Scenario, Iran needs only a draw for qualification after the defeat of Cambodia.