Team Melli defeated Oman 2-0 in Azadi stadium to clinch its berth in the third round of Asian Zone FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers. The prolific Sardar  Azmoun scored both goals from headers of corners in the first half.

Oman which had only one hope of qualifying and that is to beat Iran, was put under pressure early in the first half of the match. Sustained pressure from Team Melli resulted in creating several scoring chances by Dejagah , Azamoun and Jahanbakhsh only to be thwarted by the excellent Ali Al Habsi in Oman’s goal.

The first goal from the corner came in the 16th minute when Azmoun raised above all and headed goal ward. Al Habsi managed to get hold of the ball but it was ruled to have passed the line.

7 minutes later . Azmoun repeated the feat with another clever header that cleanly beat Al Habsi this time.

The first half saw very little offensive moves from the Omani team which needed all the three points while Iran  were more energetic and forward going.

In the second half. Iran remained dominant and despite failing to score, Team Melli created many chances and played an eye pleasing football in front of 40,000 fans. Azadi stadium capacity is restricted to less than half of its capacity because of lack of seats!

In what seems to be the last match for Team Melli under the Portuguese coach, Queiroz maintained his desire of playing the younger players and urged them to perform at the highest levels in preparation for the tougher next round.

Queiroz has decided that he will walk away from Team Melli just before the general assembly of the football federation where his main supporter Kaffashian will not be standing for re-election.

With the completion of final day of second  round of the qualifiers, Iran joins Japan , South Korea , Qatar , Australia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia as group winners to the next round. The four best 2nd placed teams are UAE, Iraq, China and Syria.

The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification will be played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017. The draw will be held in Kuala Lumpur on  12 April 2016