Stellar trio lead the way after week of thrilling World Cup qualifiers

Iran travelled to Doha last week to take on a Qatar side desperate for points if they were to have any chance of catching the top three in Group A. But it was Mehdi Taremi who scored the only goal of the game seven minutes after half-time as Carlos Queiroz’s team extended their lead at the top of the standings following surprise defeats for Korea Republic and Uzbekistan.

Team Melli then returned to Tehran for the visit of China, who arrived at Azadi Stadium on the back of a fine 1-0 victory over second-placed Korea Republic as Yu Dabao’s first-half strike ensured a first win of the campaign for Marcello Lippi’s side.

But the group leaders proved too strong for the East Asians as Taremi continued his rich vein of form by netting shortly after the interval to extend Iran’s unbeaten run and edge them closer to FIFA World Cup qualification.

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Iran travelled to Doha last week to take on a Qatar side desperate for points if they were to have any chance of catching the top three in Group A. But it was Mehdi Taremi who scored the only goal of the game seven minutes after half-time as Carlos Queiroz\u2019s team extended their lead at the top of the standings following surprise defeats for Korea Republic and Uzbekistan.

Team Melli then returned to Tehran for the visit of China, who arrived at Azadi Stadium on the back of a fine 1-0 victory over second-placed Korea Republic as Yu Dabao\u2019s first-half strike ensured a first win of the campaign for Marcello Lippi\u2019s side.

But the group leaders proved too strong for the East Asians as Taremi continued his rich vein of form by netting shortly after the interval to extend Iran\u2019s unbeaten run and edge them closer to FIFA World Cup qualification.

", "headline": "Stellar trio lead the way after week of thrilling World Cup qualifiers", "description": "Kuala Lumpur: After a week of crucial FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan and Saudi Arabia remain in strong positions to advance to Russia, while Korea Republic and Uzbekistan returned to winning ways on Matchday Seven after defeats on Matchday Six and Australia ended a run of four straight draws.\r\n", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "url": "https://www.the-afc.com/", "name": "the AFC" }, "image": "https://assets.the-afc.com/migration/u/k/uku8uh03xba5x012gpzk.jpg", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "datePublished": "2017-03-31", "url": "www.the-afc.com/en/national/fifa_world_cup/news/stellar_trio_lead_the_way_after_week_of_thrilling_world_cup_qualifiers.html" }