Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers Third Round: Iran vs. Korea Republic [PREVIEW]

AFC – TEHRAN, Group A leaders Islamic Republic of Iran entertain second-placed Korea Republic at the Azadi Stadium on Tuesday evening in a high-octane clash as both teams seek to solidify their hopes of securing a place at the finals of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

*Iran coach Carlos Queiroz keen to see crunch match against Korea Republic as just another game on the road to Russia 2018.
*Experienced Korea Republic players will not be overawed by the atmosphere inside a packed-out Azadi Stadium, says Korea Republic coach Uli Stielike.
*Ashkan Dejagah available for Iran after recovering from a calf injury that ruled him out of the 1-0 win over Uzbekistan.
*Korea Republic Hong Jeong-ho is suspended after being sent off in the 3-2 win over Qatar on Matchday Three.
*Korea Republic aiming to secure first-ever win over Iran on Iranian soil.

Match Details
Date: 11 October 2016 (Tuesday)
Kickoff time: 6:15pm IRST, 2:45pm GMT
Venue: Azadi Stadium, Tehran
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Coach Quotes

Carlos Queiroz, Iran
“We don’t think about Korea Republic, we think about our qualification. We think about Korea as we think about China, Uzbekistan, Syria and Qatar. When we play against Korea it’s a great challenge for us because they have great players and a great team. They have a lot of tradition, they have organised the World Cup and played at the World Cup many times.

“It’s a challenge every time we play Korea, we learn a lot. We don’t have anything to lose when we play them but they have because they have the reputation of being a great team and a country that has organised a World Cup with great players and a great team.”

Uli Stielike, Korea Republic
“It’s a battle between first and second in the group in the final qualifying round for the World Cup, so both teams know that’s it’s an important game and the tension is rising. However, we have come here to play a game of football in the spirit of fair play and I hope that we can show respect and fair play both on and off the pitch.

“Most of our players are playing in high-level leagues, and even those who are playing in the Chinese league are used to playing in front of a lot of spectators because most of the times when we go there we see the stadiums are full, so most of our players are used to this situation.”

Head-to-Head Record
18/11/14 Iran 1-0 Korea Republic
18/06/13 Korea Republic 0-1 Iran
17/10/12 Iran 1-0 Korea Republic
23/01/11 Iran 0-1 Korea Republic
07/09/10 Korea Republic 0-1 Iran

Form
Iran WWWDW
Korea Republic LWWDW

How they fared on MD3

Uzbekistan 0-1 Iran
A Jalal Hosseini header after 27 minutes gave Islamic Republic of Iran all three points in Tashkent, as Uzbekistan’s 100% record in third-round qualifying was broken. Carlos Queiroz’s team defended well after the opener to pick up their seventh point in three games and remain unbeaten.

Korea Republic 3-2 Qatar
Son Heung-min’s second-half goal gave Korea Republic a come-from-behind win over Qatar as they held on for a result despite being reduced to 10 men with 25 minutes to go. Ki Sung-yueng had put the hosts ahead before the Qataris replied twice in the first half but goals from Ji Dong-won and then Son sent the Korea Republic fans home happy.