Tag: Laos

Iran Edges Out North Korea 3-2 in World Cup Qualifier

In a thrilling showdown on November 14, Iran defeated North Korea 3-2 in their fifth Group A match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match took place at Vientiane’s New National Stadium in Laos.

Iran adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Sardar Azmoun as the lead striker and Mehdi Taremi supporting just behind him. Ehsan Ghaeydi and Sadegh Mohebbi played on the left and right flanks, respectively, while Saeid Ezatollahi and Ali Karimi took on defensive midfield roles. The back line featured Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Shoja Khalilzadeh as central defenders, with Omid Mohammadi and Mohammad Youssefi positioned as left and right fullbacks. Alireza Beiranvand guarded the goal.

North Korea, in a 4-4-2 formation, had forwards Han Kwang-sung and Ri Jo-guk leading their attack. Kang Kook-chul anchored the midfield with support from Choi Joo-sung and Baek Chung-sung on the flanks. The defensive lineup included Kim Beom-hyuk and Choi Ok-chul as fullbacks, with Kim Yu-sung and Jang Kook-chul as central defenders. Kang Joo-hyuk stood as the goalkeeper.

First Half: Iran’s Dominance

Iran dominated the first half, applying consistent pressure that eventually yielded their opening goal. In the 28th minute, Taremi threaded a perfect pass into the box for Ghaeydi, who fired a right-footed shot past the North Korean keeper.

Iran’s offense continued to press, and in the 40th minute, Mohebbi doubled the lead with a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area. Just before the halftime whistle, Taremi found Mohebbi again, threading a pass behind the North Korean defense. Mohebbi calmly slotted the ball home, putting Iran up 3-0 and completing Taremi’s hat-trick of assists.

Second Half: A Shift in Momentum

A crucial turning point came early in the second half. Iran’s Khalilzadeh was shown a red card in the 50th minute for a last-man foul on a North Korean forward charging towards goal. This forced Iran to play with ten men, and North Korea quickly capitalized on their numerical advantage.

In the 55th minute, a North Korean corner led to a chaotic scramble in Iran’s penalty area, resulting in an own goal by Taremi. Just three minutes later, North Korea’s Kim Yoo-sung took advantage of Iran’s disrupted defense, slotting a shot into the bottom left corner, narrowing Iran’s lead to 3-2.

Iran’s Defensive Stand

Sensing North Korea’s momentum, Iran shifted focus to defend their lead, substituting key attacking players, including Taremi, Azmoun, and Ghaeydi, to stabilize the backline. Despite North Korea’s relentless attempts to equalize, Iran held firm, demonstrating late-game concentration to secure the 3-2 victory.

Group A Standings

With this win, Iran remains at the top of Group A, boasting four wins and one draw (13 points) in five matches in the third qualifying round. North Korea, meanwhile, sits at the bottom of the group, with two draws and three losses (2 points).

North Korea’s last attempy to seek qualifcation.

Vientiane: Iran will face DPR Korea in Group A of the Asian Qualifiers™ – Road to 26 knowing that victory will almost surely secure their ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Iran, on 10 points, lead the standings ahead of Uzbekistan on goal difference with both sitting six clear of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar after just four matches. 

Seeking a fourth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup and seventh overall, Iran’s qualification campaign has been serene.

The opening two matchdays saw the Central Asian side registering 1-0 wins over Kyrgyz Republic and UAE, with a tough 0-0 draw with Uzbekistan following.

Iran, however, were at their scorching best against Qatar on Matchday Four as they cruised to an emphatic 4-1 win and with their key players all available, they will fancy their chances against DPR Korea in the neutral venue of Vientiane.

“We are well aware that we have a tough game. The Korean team has a strong defense. They also work very well and quickly in attacks. In this game, we have to go to the field with more focus and responsibility than in the previous matches. We got a good result in the last two games, but those two matches are history now,” Ghalenoei said.

The Team Melli coach says that the match against North Korea and Kyrgyzstan are “the most important” matches of the national team.

“We must play with high concentration from the first minute to the 90th minute. We have analyzed North Korea and we know how strong they are. Even in the match against Uzbekistan, where they lost, or in the match against the UAE, where they shared the spoils, they could have won the match, so we must face this opponent with full attention,” he added.

Asked his is there any challenge ahead of Iran football team against the Korean team, Ghalenoei said, “Fortunately, we don’t have any special challenge ahead of us and the players are ready to play. I have to thank the Iran Football Federation, because we traveled to Laos by direct flight, otherwise it would endure a 30-hour trip.

 However, the truth of the game is when the referee blows the whistle to start the game, and I hope that the players of the national team will start and finish their work in this match with the same concentration they had in the game against Qatar and use the opportunities effectively.

In response to the question about the history of matches between two teams, North Korea have always been a difficult opponent, Ghalenoei said, “Football in Asia has progressed and you can see this in the World Cup qualifiers. North Korea have also shown that they are a good team with a plan, and their past results prove this. The matches against North Korea and Kyrgyzstan are our most important matches and we want to do our best to secure our berth in the World Cup.”.

While DPR Korea still have a mathematical chance of securing one of the two top spots which will guarantee automatic qualification, they will need to win their remaining matches and hope other results go in their favour.

With just two points on the board, victory is a must against Iran and DPR Korea can be expected to produce their best as they strive to keep their campaign alive. 

DPR Korea v IR Iran

Venue: Lao National Stadium KM16 (Vientiane)

Kick-off: Thursday, 19:00 (UTC+7)

Iran youth wins big.

Iran’s U20 team under Hossein Abdi began the qualification with a resounding win against Host Laos in Vientiane with an 8-0 win in the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 Group G tie on Wednesday.

Iran took the lead after eight minutes with Farhan Bozorgianasl nodding at the far post from a deep outswinging corner kick delivery.

The four-time champions continued to be on the attack and doubled their advantage four minutes later from another set-piece, this time from a free-kick that Amirmohammad Razaghinia powered into the net.

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Defender Yaghoob Barajeh increased their lead in the 31st minute with a Laos mistake five minutes later allowing Esmaeil Gholizadeh to get on the scoresheet with Kasra Taheri capping an impressive first half for Iran with the fifth goal in the 41st minute.

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Despite showing improved defending at the start of the second half, Laos were undone again by Iran in the 63rd minute, Abbas Kahrizi producing a clever turn inside the box before slamming past Kop Lokphathip.

Iran were awarded a penalty with two minutes left to play, Barajeh sending his spot-kick into the bottom corner for his second of the game before another penalty in stoppage time was tucked away by Taheri to seal the resounding win.

Iran U20 will meet India who defeated Mongolia 4-1 in the earlier game, on Friday 27th September.

GOAL SCORERS

FIRST HALF.

Farhan Bozorgianasl 1-0 (8′)
Amirmohammad Razaghinia 2-0 (12′)
Yaghoob BarajeH 3-0 (31′)
Esmaeil Gholizadeh 4-0 (36′)
Kasra Taheri 5-0 (41′)

SECOND HALF
Abbas Kahrizi 6-0 (61′)
Yaghoob BarajeH 7-0 (p 88′)
Kasra Taheri 8-0 (91′)

Iran U20 goals